Slytherin Gryffin Marriage and Lost Relatives
by Dinomus
Summary: The marriage contract idea thrown in with lost relatives.  Harry meets people he never knew existed or talked to before, and gets training from people who help him prepare for a hidden threat that makes Voldemort look nice. T for now.
1. Hold on! I'm Talking to You in a Dream?

This is a rewrite after taking a couple of reviewers' advice and one of them was breaking up one long chapter into two. I'm currently working on rewriting the second chapter that use to be part of the first one. I'm breaking up dialogue and going to change around a couple OC's. I still intend to keep them but I'll make the second OC less uber. Anyhow, here's the rewrite of chapter one.

Disclaimer:I do not, nor will ever, own anything from the Harry Potter series. This is strictly J.K. Rowling's. Now if it was mine, I would tell her to do a time travel story that'll actually go with what she planned in mind as long as it wasn't the pairings she made. Now on to the story.

Chapter 1: Hold On, I'm Talking to You in a Dream?

A young boy of 15 was sitting alone in a spacious room, alone with his snowy white owl. It would be odd normally, but the boy had an owl because people like him, those with abilities to use magic. The young teenager was lost in his thoughts as he looked back on the events over the past couple of months. He had seen the death of a fellow Tri-Wizard competitor, a fellow student who shared in representing his school, Hogwarts, for the Tri-Wizard tournament. The student's death, however, was only a prelude to the return of an evil being that took away the boy's childhood and used his blood to resurrect him. That man's name was Voldemort, the darkest wizard in half a century. The young boy was Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived after said wizard used the killing curse on him as a baby, which did not kill him and disembodied Voldemort. Harry saw his fellow competitor's death at the hands of his parents' traitor, and was helpless to stop either that or his enemy's return. Since he brought back the student's body and proclaimed Voldemort's return, his life had gone in a downward spiral.

After saying Voldemort returned, the Ministry of Magic has gone on a public smear campaign against him and his school's headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. The so-called Leader of the Light and Headmaster of the Hogwarts School of Wizardry and Witchcraft had been in Harry's corner, but now it seems Harry was always alone, with his hearing for the use of underage magic being an example, in which he used a charm to ward off beings known as Dementors, which suck the souls of living beings through a person's darkest memories. Harry did this to protect himself and his abusive muggle cousin, Dudley, who knew of magic but he and his parents were rather hostile to Harry in regards to that. Harry was just cleared with the timely intervention of Dumbledore's late arrival. It seemed Harry couldn't get any breaks as the Minister of Magic put Harry in front of the Wizengamot, Britain's legislative body, and he was not allowed to defend himself even with Dumbledore's help. The Minister, Cornelius Fudge, plainly wanted to get rid of him but with some convincing by Dumbledore and support by Amelia Bones, the Head of Law Enforcement, Harry was freed but he was now under house arrest at his godfather's place.

Now, he is in his godfather's home, 12 Grimmauld Place. Until now, he had no contact from his friends or even his mentor, who was supposed to help him but always seemed to come when it's almost too late. His godfather, who was his father's best friend and framed for his parents' betrayal by another friend, couldn't contact him after escaping from Azkabahn, the wizarding prison. No one would come to contact him, under the orders of Dumbledore, citing protection from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The only strange thing was if Dumbledore realized how redundant that was since Voldemort came back with his blood, a matter that wasn't broached upon but thought of by Harry. Harry could only wait to see what will happen next, but Harry really wasn't in too much of a mood to expect anything different with public opinion turned against him.

Since the trial, Harry couldn't really do much even with his two best friends there. Ron Weasley, the tall red haired sixth son of the Wesley family, and Hermione Granger, the bushy-haired know-it-all, tried to reconnect with him after Dumbledore ordered them to not contact Harry for fear of reprisal from Voldemort. Alas, Harry wasn't too keen on the fact that Ron's mother, Molly, thought to coddle Harry and prevent him from going to meetings for the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore's group he founded during the first war with Voldemort. His godfather, Sirius, thought differently but Dumbledore decided to go with Molly on this. Harry had to resort to spying with the help of the Weasley twins, Fred and George, using their prank inventions. Even so, Harry was very much out of the loop for all things involving the fight against Voldemort, and it was made worse when the new school term started less than a month before Sept. 1 and he couldn't get his school supplies in Diagon Alley without anyone pointing at him or whispering so the Order members had to do it for him. It was during those few weeks left that on one night that things truly began to get odd for Harry.

It was just a couple days after the trial that things started to become strange for Harry. Even before the trial, he always dreamt of his inability to save Cedric and prevent Voldemort's return. The dream had been going on since the end of fourth year, and was always very vivid with Voldemort's face in a sneer and Cedric's lifeless eyes staring at Harry. All attempts of Harry to move were in vain as he couldn't even reach for his wand. In fact, it was a re-enactment of the entire graveyard scene during the third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, with Harry powerless to do anything with him being chained to the tombstone of Voldemort's muggle father. It always contained of Voldemort's taunts on Harry's inability to protect Cedric and how Harry is now at Voldemort's mercy. And at the end, it would show Voldemort using the killing curse on Harry, where all resistance is futile and Harry would wake up screaming. This time, Voldemort spoke to Harry in a tone that would send shivers down Harry spine.

_"Quite unfortunate, isn't it Harry?" _the dream figure asked. _"You could've saved him, but you couldn't maintain, what was the phrase? Ah, yes, Alastor Moody's favorite phrase, constant vigilance."_

The tone Voldemort used in saying that phrase was the complete opposite of Moody's harsh and blunt assessment of maintaining one's survival that it would've made one wish they had dropped dead without having to face life's horrors. For Harry, it could only mean that he truly failed in saving someone and it was being thrown right in his face. Voldemort's taunt only continued and it would truly make Harry feel alone.

_"How said that you would only feel the confidence to do save someone with the help of your precious mentor and your useless friends. What, the Weasley who easily could've stood by your side, yet in a jealous fit left when he didn't believe you're words on how you didn't enter your name in the Goblet of Fire? Oh no, Harry, he took the side of the rest of the students and branded you a lying, attention-grabbing fool. My, my, and yet he didn't send you a letter to ask how you have been feeling lately."_

_"The same is true for your Mudblood friend, Granger was it not? The one person who stood by your side throughout the tournament, and she didn't even consider to check in on you. All of this, as you have no doubt learned by now, was all under Albus' order to protect you. Doesn't he realize how foolish he was to think that you'd be still protected at your magic-hating Muggle relatives? That with your blood to resurrect me that nothing will harm you? Hah! Pitiful of him to not even realize how much danger he has placed you in. He has truly become a senile old fool. No one believes you now, and who can blame them? Certainly not I, for I only did what was necessary for my plans in ridding me of you. The 'Boy-Who-Lived' is now the 'Boy-Who-Lost'"._

_"You have lost yourself Harry, and you could've prevented that by joining me. I would've given you everything you've ever wanted. Now, I'm afraid, it's much too late. You should've joined me when you first came to Hogwarts and stopped me from obtaining the Philosopher's Stone. I gave you another chance with the tournament. Now, you have nothing, and will still have nothing once I am through with you. You're parents paid for that, and now, I will make sure that you will suffer slowly and painfully. And to make sure, I believe you need some more proof of my plans."_

Upon saying that, Voldemort stepped back and revealed Cedric, Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione and his parents, amongst others Harry knew walking towards him. All of them shared the same look of disdain and betrayal, directing them towards Harry. Dumbledore's spirit was the first to speak.

_"I am sorry, my boy, but Tom is right. You are truly weak, for you could not save Cedric. It was only fitting that I stop all forms of communication to you for it would only put more people at risk. It was to protect you and the others from yourself, as now you have seen the Dark Lord's rise and you are responsible for that. You will never achieve anything as long as Voldemort is not vanquished, and Cedric was the first example of that."_

For Harry to hear that from the man he looked up was painful, as Harry did not want to believe that his summer of isolation was all because of him. _"No!" _shouted Harry but it was all in vain as no one truly heard him.

It was more painful when Ron and Hermione spoke to him. _"Sorry mate, but you really shouldn't have tried to enter the tournament," _Ron sarcastically said, _"It really would've saved us the trouble of having to go through our argument, but then again, you always get the attention, right? Bloody hell, mate, why does it seem that you get it at the cost of someone else, like poor Cedric did? Too bad you weren't expelled, cause then I would've gotten everything that you had. Quidditch, girls, free publicity. At least I wouldn't be accused of being a parselmouth and have the Ministry coming for me."_

_"How true, Ron," _Hermione spoke next, _"It really is a shame that Harry couldn't have been more prepared. I mean, sure, Harry didn't mean to enter the tournament, but then again, shouldn't he have expected something like that to happen? Always talking about how he hoped no one would come after him. Too bad he didn't plan that far ahead. He could've done so much better last year, and the years before come to think of it. He didn't even appreciate how I took his Firebolt in third year just because I was worried an unnamed sender might have been a Death Eater."_

_"Well, never again. It's not like I'm losing much when I drop a silly boy like him. Who would want to even associate with him since it's his fault that Voldemort was back in the first place? We made that clear, didn't we, Ron?" _

_"Oh yes Hermione," _Ron said, _"Very much so."_

For Harry, it was hurtful that his two best friends would've said such things to him and even think of him like that. While relations with Ron did go sour at the beginning of fourth year, things improved after the first task, but with him and Hermione going against him in the dream, it was like getting sucker punched.

_"How could you say this?" _shouted Harry, _"How can you even think I would want such things? All of this was thrown upon me! I didn't ask for this! I just wanted to be normal! I never asked for anything at the expense of others!"_ No one listened as they all looked at him with contempt. Soon the entire Weasley family showed up, including Ginny, who he saved in his second year, all claiming him as the source of all their problems. His father's friends, Sirius and Remus, all gave evil glares, even Snape gloated in the verbal attacks. Everyone made their say, with shouts of 'Liar', 'Murderer', and other things being thrown at him. The most painful was his parents, James and Lily, walking towards him with morose faces.

Harry's mother, with red hair and bright green eyes like his, and father, who many considered Harry a clone of, just stopped at the base of the tombstone, and together would hurt Harry the most.

_"It truly pains me that we have all suffered by your hands," _Lily said,_ "How we died because of you. We should've never had you in the first place. My sister and her family didn't care much for me after I learned magic, but I could see why you are a waste of space for them. I am truly ashamed that I would even give my life for you."_

_"It is why, son," _James interjected, _"That you are hereby declared unworthy of the name Potter. What a disgrace you are! All of our sacrifices in our stand against Voldemort, and what did they lead us to? Just to see you become as much of a criminal as Voldemort. I should never have told Lily to take you up to your nursery. I should never have fought against Voldemort that Halloween night. In fact, we should've never even considered conceiving you. Had we known beforehand how useless you would become, we should've let you be killed by Voldemort. You truly should've not existed, at all!"_

_"You're life is now declared without relation to anyone and forfeit for anyone to declare! Before you even think of escaping, you will soon be struck dead and it will be done as it should've been before you were EVEN BORN!"_

As James' venomous words rose, Harry couldn't hold back the tears that leaked out of his eyes as the crowd cheered in ecstasy. Harry wanted to say something, but he could not say a word. It was as if his ability to speak was taken away from him, only his thoughts would allow him a say in matter. The final dagger would be Lily's.

_"Oh, how I wish none of this happened," _Lily cried, _"So that I could have spent my life with the man I love. I now spend it in the afterlife, all because of you Harry. As James has already said, you are hereby declared worthless to us. We should have done this long ago. Now, we can. Good-bye, son."_

Those words truly made Harry feel powerless, as he would've slumped to the ground without the chains. In fact, that is what happened, as Harry fell to the ground with tears in his eyes. Staring straight ahead at his parents with disbelief, he couldn't pick up anything the crowd was saying. Not that it mattered anyway, for Voldemort prepared raised his wand and pointed it at Harry in point blank range.

_"Ah, Harry"_, Voldemort sneered, _"This is the end for you. A very fitting end, where you face the tip of my wand just as you had all those years ago as a baby, only this time you cannot escape. Your power is nothing. Finally, all your years of miraculous escapes from my grasp are at an end. Nothing will save you, and no one will care to aid you. Farewell, Harry Potter. AVADA KADAVERA!"_

The infamous killing curse was unleashed, only this time Harry would not be able to dodge it due to his immobility. The green light would crash in to him, and without a sound the world would fade to darkness. And usually, Harry would wake up screaming. The ending, however, would be vastly different for all of a sudden the killing curse was stopped in its tracks and Harry's eyes would widen in shock and confusion. Voldemort, as well as the crowd behind him, stared in shock at the unexpected halt of the killing curse. The curse was considered impossible to block, and for it to stop just inches from Harry's face was a shock to all.

Enraged, Voldemort shouted _"How is this possible? Who dares to deny me my moment of victory! Let the fool show himself for his defiance!"_

Suddenly, as if on cue, the curse dissipated. _"Now there's no need to shout, Voldemort"_, said a deep monotonous voice, _"Even in a dream, it can't always end with someone being blasted by the killing curse. I just wanted to change things up a bit._"

The voice that rang out send a shiver through all of the figures in the dream, to which Harry would think to himself odd for such an occurrence happen. As everyone looked around, searching for the disembodied voice, no one noticed that Harry was freed from his chains and stood amongst everyone looking for the source of the voice as well.

_"How dare you?" _Voldemort scornfully asked, _"Ordering me to listen to someone who won't even show his face? It is truly a coward's way of doing things when one doesn't even appear before me."_

The voice soon chuckled, enraging Voldemort even more. _"Oh, Tom"_, said the voice, _"You could've asked me a bit nicer. Although, a dead man does not need to know my name, but you won't mind seeing my face, would you?"_

At that, footsteps were heard. Harry heard it coming from behind him, and turned to see who it was.

When he turned, Harry saw a few inches from him only the person's lower torso, but there was a reason. Harry could see a pair of pants that looked like what a muggle would wear in business, but Harry could see that these legs were just long and sturdy. As in really long, causing Harry to wonder what kind of being was it.

'_Bloody hell'_, Harry thought, _"Is this man some sort of athlete with legs that could carry him in a marathon?"_

Harry dared to look upwards, for he assumed the person would've been at least 6' feet in height. As he looked up, Harry could only see the person's upper torso, covered by a large dress robe of some sort, with Oriental symbols on it. Harry surmised that the man must be Asian, but Harry could not see a face still.

_'Oh, you've got to be kidding me'_, Harry thought in exasperation, _'Is this guy any taller than possible?'_

Harry tilted his head even higher, almost straining his neck, with Harry realizing with each step that the man was certainly taller than he thought. When he finally took the step that allowed him to see the person's face, he could finally see a man with a strong jawline, a dark mass of hair that was similar to Harry's but without the wildness that Harry dealt with. His face seemed long but widened out to look box-shaped, with a nose that was a little wide and pointy but otherwise looked normal. What caught Harry's attention, though, was that the man had a face that seemed impassive but his eyes contained a fiery spirit ready to come out.

And speaking of eyes, the old saying of eyes being windows to the soul would certainly fit for two people. The obvious choice was Harry, with his bright and fiery emerald green eyes that held so much emotional range. The other wouldn't be considered but one would have to look very carefully at the man's eyes to truly understand. Somehow, Harry backed up enough to see the man's eyes and could only let his mouth drop in awe at the man's eye colors. Yes, eye _colors_, for the man had two different eye colors. It doesn't happen a lot, but there have been enough cases of people born with one eye color different from the other, who are called hematochromatics, with the most common being blue and green.

This man, however, didn't have one eye blue and one eye green. Instead, his right eye was a dark black. A very strange sight, as it looked as if the man's pitch black eye could swallow a person's entire being and be sucked into the man without preamble. As dark as night, the man's black right eye looked like a bottomless pit where one could still see further inside his being and not even an eternity could answer questions. The man's left eye, however, was even stranger, for it was white. Yes, an eye that is the color of white. It looked as if one would wake up in a hospital room and first see the whiteness of the room under the light. It was almost a milky color, disguising the fact that it does have an iris but with the whiteness, it looked as if anyone could paint some color into his eye. The whiteness, however, is deceptive for anyone would be caught in the same situation looking at the man's dark right eye. The man's left eye was almost ethereal, like a patch of clouds covering the radiance of the sun and the moon's luminance. The man's eyes and incredible physical stature, serve to present a unique yet dichotomous character that not many would ever claim to have seen before.

Harry had never seen such a strange physical phenomenon, and that's saying something with the wizarding world's existence. Harry felt intimidated beyond belief as he took in this human giant, and attempted to take in what this man was. Harry could definitely see that the man had a pair of legs that looked like giant steel beams and his upper body, though covered with the Oriental vest, must boast impressive body strength. He tried to see where the man's arms were, and when he found them, saw that the robe looked more like a vest for his arms were long and went past the robe's length. The man's arms looked more like a pro basketball player, wearing a jersey that had sleeves but could only cover a third of his upper arm. The man's arms were long and the muscles were a well-balanced mix of lean and powerful without looking like they were bulging. Harry never ever thought he'd see such a human physique on anyone.

_'Come off it, Harry!'_ he berated to himself, _'I'm no queer or a gay person, though at least I don't think so. But really, if I even had some of this person's stature, I could definitely get the ladies impressed with me_. _I mean bloody hell! This bloke's like Hagrid, and I don't even know if he can dwarf Hagrid who's a half-giant. This is one strange dream._'

While Harry was having his mental thoughts, the denizens of Harry's dream all involuntarily took a couple steps back, just as intimidated, if not more, than Harry was when the man first appeared.

At least in a dream, no one ever saw such a human being appear as the man is now. All of them looked frightened, even Hagrid who appeared in Harry's dream as one of his taunters was stunned with disbelief. Everyone saw the man's eyes, and if even a few were intimidated by the man's size, all of them were shocked by the man's eyes. Even Voldemort was thrown off by the man's appearance, but with a sneer, he composed himself and prepared to take the man down.

_"So this is the man who dares to defy me of my victory", _Voldemort smoothly said, _"You are a fool. No matter what, Potter will fall before me and I shall take control of everything. You may have favorable physical attributes, but you are nothing without magical power."_

At that, the man looked down on Voldemort. Harry could only wonder what the man would say next. What actually happened, however, was unexpected. As Voldemort threatened the man, he laughed. Not a just a chuckle, or a 'ha ha', but a loud, deep laugh. The dream's occupants stunned, the man stood where he was and laughed heartily as if he was at a pub drinking beer with fellow friends. Voldemort, however, gave an ugly sneer at the man's laugh. Voldemort spoke out his thoughts.

"_How dare you? You laugh at me! Me, the most feared and powerful dark wizard since Grindewald! Well, here's something to take back for a good laugh! AVADA KEDAVARA!"_

With a sudden jab of his wand, Voldemort fired the killing curse at the man's head. Harry, just hearing the spell, tried to stop it.

"Look out!" shouted Harry.

But it was too late, and the curse hit the man right in the face. Harry was stunned, not wanting to believe that another person died and he could've prevented it, even if it was in a dream. The man, however, moved his head a couple times as if loosening his neck muscles.

_"You really rely on curses a lot, don't you Riddle?"_ the man asked. This stunned Harry and everyone else out of shock. This stranger survived the killing curse, one that was considered impossible to block! Voldemort was stunned, not believing that the man was still alive after taking a full on killing curse.

_"Impossible!" _he shouted, _"How can you still be alive?"_ The man only smirked.

_"Come on, Riddle"_, the man calmly said, _"It doesn't matter if it's in Harry's head or in the real world. I've taken that before and survived."_

This stunned Harry. '_He actually survived the killing curse?' _Harry thought, _'I can't believe it!'_

The man soon turned to Harry with an impassive face again. Harry flinched under the man's gaze, wondering what he could be doing next.

_"You know, Harry," _man said, _"I'm not gay either, but I'm not really having any easier of time with women. All they care about is getting in bed with me, though I can understand why you feel that you'd have better chances of having a woman on your arms with a better physique. I am pretty tall as you imagined, but it's a bit difficult to move around places with my appearance. Don't worry, though, I have taken on worse than the killing curse, and those things don't need even an incantation of any kind to work.'_

Harry was again stunned, not believing that man even knew what he was thinking. Before he could speak, however, Voldemort raged. _"You dare to defy me? Crucio!"_

The curse was shot at him, but the man took it without any hesitation. When it hit, he shook it off as if it was just dust. Voldemort, at least in a dream, was stunned speechless. Harry was too, not believing that this man, even in a dream, could still be standing. The man then moved, and every step he took caused everyone to move back.

_"Time to leave everyone"_, said the man, _"For I need to discuss something important with Harry and time is of the essence."_

Immediately after saying that, the man moved and suddenly disappeared. In an instant, he reappeared with a sword in his right hand. Harry wondered how he had a sword on him, but then realized that it must have been smaller on his person and could've been easily disguised and overlooked by people. Suddenly, he heard screams and turned around. To his shock, Harry was stunned. All of his tormentors were suddenly in pain. A dream shouldn't have pain involved, Harry told himself, yet these beings were. All of them disappeared instantly, while Voldemort, as stubborn as in reality, kept holding up.

_"How", _Voldemort asked as he looked at the man with contempt, _"How did you do all of this, how could you even attempt what you have attempted just now?"_

The man only shook his head as he swung his sword and rested the blade on his chest.

_"Tom"_, said the man, _"You should have never done the things you've done. It's time Harry learned something, but I doubt it'll be with you around all the time in his dreams. And now that I think about it, you'll only be defeated if Harry doesn't get shut out like he has been all summer. Don't think I'll be watching him and I'll appear very soon. So go back to your hideout but you'll see me again soon. This isn't the first time you or any of your Death Eaters have met me, and you'll be wishing that I ended you all before Harry was even born_."

With that, Voldemort, in a sneer, faded away from Harry's dream, only to say _"This isn't the end, Potter. Even with your new friend, you will still die by my hand and your friend will soon wish that he never crossed Lord Voldemort!"_

With that, the Dark Lord disappeared from Harry's dream. Harry, still in shock, slowly turned to the man who saved him in his dream. As he did, the man had sheathed his sword and placed it within his robe. The man walked towards Harry instantly closing the gap between the two thanks to his height. Harry, hesitantly, raised his hand to shake the other man's hand.

"Um, thanks", Harry shakily said, "For, erh, helping me. Oh, now I'm talking in my sleep."

The man laughed, and raised his hand to shake Harry's. His eyes widened even more as the man's hand was big, easily dwarfing Harry's hand. The man shook Harry's with a solid shake, to which Harry didn't even pay attention as his mind was elsewhere.

"Don't mention it, Harry", said the man, "But this is the first time that I've actually intervened in your dream. It's about time that you had someone you got out of your funk when no one else was around." At that, Harry was shaken out of his reverie.

"Wait," said Harry, "When did you appear before? I've had this dream over and over again, this being the first time I've seen everyone I know appearing and you showing up. How's that possible?"

"Honestly," replied the man, "I've watched you from the sidelines as your dreams increased and slowly got worse. Personally, I've experienced your discomfort, so I didn't actually appear in your dreams before. Still, I don't know why you couldn't talk to anyone, or even send a letter. Dumbledore may be worried about Death Eaters, but he's forgotten that people do need help. He should know that your elf friend, Dobby, could go places easily."

Harry, however, was still unconvinced that the man, despite everything that's happened, was really trusting. "What do you want, though?" Harry asked, "Why do you want to help me?"

The man sighed, giving Harry a good stare to unnerve him. "I'm not asking for anything, Harry," replied the man, "But times are changing, and there are worse things cropping up. Some have already existed before all of this, and some are even worse than Voldemort." Harry was, to say the least, surprised at that proclamation.

"You can't be serious?" Harry asked breathlessly, "You're pulling my leg here."

The man shook his head. "No, I'm not," said the man, "But you need to realize your abilities and soon. Changes are coming from the horizon and not all of it is good. You'll need to confront them and unearth some secrets that have been kept from you."

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry, "What secrets, and how would you actually know about them?"

"Like I said, you need to find out yourself," said the man, "But I'll come soon, don't worry. You've got some challenges ahead and need to prepare for them before I come. A couple people I know will come to your school when dark times come. They'll help you. I suggest you find out some things soon, though, because you are gonna have an interesting girlfriend soon."

At that, Harry was bewildered at the man's comment. "Wait, what?" asked Harry, "What does my love life have to do with anything, especially when everything's already going wrong in my life. What, with the Ministry turning people against me and Voldemort's return, what's my personal life got to do with it? You're suggesting that I find my soul mate to clear things up."

The man chuckled at Harry's confusion, only to return to his steely gaze. "Don't worry," said the man, "Your love life, understandably, isn't a top priority right now. Still, time's of the essence, here and beyond. Don't lose hope, Harry. She is closer than you think and in a place you'd never think first to look. Even if nothing comes out of it, it'll be vital to the future and, perhaps, push for changes that are needed for magic to survive. Most importantly, you'll find out things that you didn't know about your family but don't just trust anyone. They need to earn yours as well as you earning theirs. Voldemort may be the threat now, but something else is out there and you must prepare for it."

Harry, despite the confusion he is experiencing, nods. "I don't know what to make of this," said Harry, "But I really want to stop Voldemort before anyone else dies. I just can't believe that something is out there that makes Voldemort look minor. Even so, I'm not going to let this happen. Count me in."

With that, the man nods and takes out his hand to offer a shake. Without hesitation, Harry, despite the size difference, puts his hand in the man's and shakes. After that, they step back. The man prepares to leave, but Harry takes up another question.

"Wait, how will I know when you're coming? Or when those people you told me will come?" The man looks down at Harry and smirks.

"Don't worry," the man replies, "You'll meet them when the school year starts. As for me, you'll know how I look, that won't be too hard to do. As for you, start focusing on making yourself stronger for you are more powerful than people realize and I'll show up from time to time in your dreams until my actual appearance. Right now, though, it's time to wake up. Don't want to worry anyone with missing breakfast, now do we?" With that, the man takes a step back and disappears from Harry's view. Right after that, everything disappears around Harry, and a bright light opens up.

"Rise and shine, pup!" shouted a man's voice, "Time for another day."

The man was Sirius Black, notorious Azkhaban fugitive, accused betrayer of the Potters and Muggle murderer who was framed by Peter Pettigrew. Now, he is Harry's fugitive godfather waking his godson to by opening the curtains and letting in the sunlight rush in. Harry groggily opened his eyes and grabbed his glasses, clearing his vision to look at his scraggly looking godfather. With a smirk, Sirius claps his hands.

"Come on, Harry", said Sirius, "Let's get things ready for your next Hogwarts term. As bad as things are for you now, you can't let anyone or anything stop you. Now let's get going."

With that, Sirius walked out of the room with a spring to his step while Harry got out of bed. As Harry was going through the morning routine, he thought back on the dream he had and the conversation with the strange man.

The man's warnings on possibly more enemies than he already had to deal with now were not too high on Harry's to-do list.

'What was all of that about?' Harry asked himself, 'Voldemort, the Ministry, and now something else to worry about. Bugger, things just had to get more complicated'.

To Harry, he still wondered if it was all real, and if not, the dream certainly felt real. 'Still,' Harry thought, 'I can't help but wonder what that man meant by secrets being kept from me. I mean, there really isn't much to know about me or my family. Not like secret powers they had or a financial empire they hid away before I was born. Even so, am I really going to meet people that will actually help me fight Voldemort? Well, I'm gonna have to wait and see. If I do see that man again, it'll be very odd to see him in person cause if he's any more intimidating in real life, then we're all in big trouble.'

With that, Harry changed and left his room to join the rest of the occupants at Grimmauld Place, and start a new day. For the rest of the summer he would interact again with his friends, but think back on to the thoughts of the man he conversed with in his dream and would meet him a few more times to prepare him for what lies ahead. He never told anyone else about it, even his friends, for he usually would claim that he didn't' remember when in truth he did. Harry would find out later on that the man would be right about whom he would least likely meet and it is with this person that Harry will meet one of the mysterious man's associates. Harry would have no idea the changes in store for him.

Well, here's a much shorter chapter 1. Hope this is better for everyone to read. I'll work on the other part soon and hopefully make it more believable for people to read. Thanks for the reviews guys!


	2. Congrats, Daphne! You're Gettin Married!

Hey all! I have to admit that I was surprised at the rather large amount of story alerts, and author alerts, this story has received! I do apologize, though, for any confusion cause I wanted to actually split the first chapter into two, thanks to three reviewers. I've forgotten whom but I've already personally messaged two of them, and the others I'll do the same for. Thanks again for the comments and story alerts. Now, one of the issues was length. Obviously, I've cut it down for the first chapter and tried to cut out some useless info. Unfortunately, I still kept some of it so I'll have to work on that for any future stories I make. Also, I made some confusing things so, here's one of them.

The first chapter had an oc, one I hope isn't too powerful for people's tastes. It also occurred with two other oc's, named Brent and Frank. I didn't mean to make them related to the Greengrasses, but I hopefully cleared that up for this one. Also, I'm gonna tone down Brent since it was a very lame attempt obviously to make him a male Hermione. I'm going to tone that down and just make him a prodigy of some sort but not uber powerful. His dad I'll get rid of some things to prevent him from being over the top like I did with the speech, so I'll cut it down but I hopefully wanted to make them memorable characters. I get that too many oc's are tiresome, but I'm gonna have original character's involved, just hopefully it won't be too crowded and with enough background for them. I tried to create a house elf character, but it won't really be like Dobby in terms of relevance. The Greengrass parents, have to have them in I believe, but they won't appear to much until I get it further along. Anyhow, hope this chapter is better and more readable.

Usual disclaimer, I own nothing. If I was any bit of a writing genius, I wouldn't have to hope to take a pill like the commercials for the movie _Limitless_, though I do want to see it actually.

Right now, here's what the dialogue is gonna be like for conversations and flashbacks, all that jazz

'dialogue': internal thinking/mind communication

"dialogue": face to face, actual conversation

"_dialogue_": dream scenario/flashback scenes

Chapter 2: Congratulations, Daphne Greengrass! You're Getting Married!

While Harry was recovering from a strange dream and spending the rest of the summer at Grimmalud Place, in another part of England, a manor was situated on top of a lush, green hill. It was luxurious, but not ostentatious. The manor had 3 floors, but the exterior was modest with Victorian style décor and windows that decent size for looking outside. Inside, however, was a different matter. There was an array of fine Middle Eastern and Oriental arts, but it was a mostly English home with the furniture with both Victorian and early 1900 designs. Chandeliers grace the lobby where the main entrance was, and it was in the living room next to the entrance where a family of four was sitting.

In one couch, the parents sat. The father was a six foot, regal looking man with smooth brown hair covering his head, dark brown eyes, a flat nose, high cheekbones, and wearing fine silk English robes that look like he came out of the Middle Ages. The mother sat to the left of the man, shorter than him at 5'9, dirty blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a face that looked like a supermodel's while wearing a long black satin dress that stops at her knees and wearing black high heels. Across from the parents sat two girls. Across from the mother was a young girl of about fourteen with long black hair, a round face, black eyes, and wearing a light green sundress and loafers. Next to the girl and across from the father sat a fifteen year old girl with long brunette hair that looked almost honey blonde, dark blue eyes, a smooth almost exotic face, and wearing a dress robe with blue on the top to match her eyes and black on the lower part and a pair of red heels.

The daughters were beautiful in their own right, with the younger one just undergoing her puberty and would be an eye catcher later on, but the older one was beautiful with a slim figure that wasn't hourglass per se, but lean and filled out in the right places. From her mother's side, she would be at least as tall as her while her persona took on her father's regality. Her lips were small but reminiscent of old time Hollywood in the muggle sense, and her legs would only be longer as she now stood at around 5'5, possibly 5'9. She was one of the most beautiful schools at her school but known as the 'Ice Queen' for her aloofness around boys and the ability to keep them at an arm's length. For you see, she was Daphne Greengrass, fifth year student at Hogwarts and member of Slytherin House.

The Greengrass family, headed by Daphen's father, Joseph Greengrass and also consisting of her mother Eleanor and younger sister Astoria, has been considered neutral for generations. Even during the first Wizarding War with Voldemort, the Greengrass family stayed neutral by showing Death Eaters that they would face severe repercussions for attacking them and the amount of money they have. They had businesses in both magical and non-magical worlds to diversify in case of financial ruin for the wizarding population. Though they never took a side, they've been regarded with suspicion as they held to the Pureblood beliefs but privately did not treat others with disdain. This brought upon scorn for the entire family as both the Dark and Light sides wanted their financial and political clout to join one of the two, but the family under Joseph's father did not budge. This continued under Joseph to prevent any acts of retribution from either side while growing their many financial holdings while Eleanor works as a healer. Still, both Greengrass parents suspected that Voldemort would return and believed Harry Potter to be telling the truth. Even though Voldemort was defeated before, they didn't truly believe that he was gone for they knew that the Death Eaters who escaped who secretly plotting and that there are rituals to bring Voldemort back. They just didn't know how, but now that it did, they wanted to prepare for the inevitable war.

As for the sisters, Daphne didn't necessarily go against Draco Malfoy and other Pureblood supremacists, but personally kept her distance away from them. Daphne knew the Malfoys were not a very trusting family, especially when it comes to politics. Still, Draco's father, Lucius, holds much sway and would do anything to keep it that way. Draco, though, wasn't all what he claimed to be, Daphne noted. All his boasting didn't lead to great power overall, and Daphne was certainly powerful enough to knock him down. Even so, Daphne kept a low profile for she, while not believing Voldemort has returned, realized that Death Eaters were still out there among ordinary people and the prospects of having to fight would be realized one day. Her sister, Astoria, also knew that but both of them know that Slytherin House was stigmatized for being a breeding ground for Dark Wizards. When the time came, the family would avoid the war at all costs but would fight to protect themselves if needed, regardless of Dark or Light.

The Greengrass family sat in their finest clothes preparing for the arrival of a group of guests. Mr. Greengrass was sitting closer to the door since their guests would use the door instead of using the floo connection or Apparition. The two girls were fairly anxious, especially the younger one.

"Can't they come any sooner?" Astoria asked loudly, "We've been waiting all day."

"Astoria, quiet!" hissed Daphne, "They'll come soon enough. We haven't seen them for some time and it would be bad form to act like you are now."

"But Daphne", Astoria whined, "We're all dressed up and they said they would be here at 11:30. It's been over an hour."

"Oh, for Merlin's sake," Daphne exasperatedly said, "it's only 11:15. There's plenty of time, it's not like they'll forget us all of a sudden."

"Stiiiillll," Astoria whined. The parents watched the interaction between the sisters, Joseph with a neutral expression while Eleanor watched with amusement with a tea cup to her lips. The sisters always had moments of sibling spats and this was one moment.

The spat they were having involved two very special guests. One of them was a man who came from the New Colonies, specifically the United States, in 1984 for a business meeting with Joseph that led to a friendship between them. They made modest gains from the meeting, but it would lead to a stable and trusting friendship between the two men. The man brought his wife and young son for the trip and it was through Joseph that the man's wife met Eleanor and the girls, who were four and two years old, respectively, at the time. The two women hit it off immediately and the families became very good friends. They managed to keep in touch and meet whenever they could, even for the Greengrasses to come to the US.

Recently, the meetings became fewer and farther in between as both families dealt with their children going to school and their countries facing different situations. With Britain going through a hotbed of controversy, the US was facing a political race involving the incumbent muggle president who was coming off a scandalous affair. In addition, personal tragedy struck the Greengrasses' good friends the summer before Daphne went to Hogwarts. The entire family visited them after Daphne's first year was completed but contact between the families wouldn't occur as often as they liked, with only intermittent correspondence to go on. Things have improved with a trip to France before Daphne's fourth year. Now, the Greengrasses will finally meet their old friends, including a couple other guests, and were waiting anxiously in their own ways.

As the sisters still argued, Eleanor decided to step in. "Alright girls," said Eleanor, "That's quite enough. Our guests will be arriving fairly soon, so let's be on our best behavior."

"But mother," Astoria shouted, "How much longer until they arrive? The suspense is killing me."

"Astoria, not another word or you will be excused," Joseph sternly said. Astoria immediately backed down with a squeak, knowing not to test her father's patience in this matter. In truth, Joseph is an honorable and gentle soul but could be easily set off when pushed enough. Internally, Joseph was excited as well of finally meeting his old business partner and friend, as well as meeting his friend's son, who has become in the man's eyes a prodigy.

Right now, though, he had to deal with two anxious daughters who would be meeting their 'uncle', for lack of a better word after some time. The elder Greengrasses wanted to name their friends godparents to their children, but the wife, surprisingly, said it wouldn't do too well to be long-distance godparents and not have enough contact with the girls. Understandably, the Greengrasses were upset hoping to have someone they could trust to look after them should something go wrong like another attack from Death Eaters. Joseph's friend, however, swore to keep secret their relationship with the family and raise their daughters should anything happen. At this it was accepted, for both parents knew that it was likely Voldemort would return or another Dark Lord would take his place. The Greengrasses' friends scoffed at the notion of the fear of a name, saying that it's understandable to fear someone's power but more ridiculous that a name would be taboo. If he ever returned, the friends assumed, he would have more power over them than necessary and people wouldn't even stand up to him if they always feared his name. That was one of the things the Greengrasses admired about their friends; their boldness in standing up against something evil and wrong for what is just and right.

"Sorry father," Astoria meekly said.

"Well, we don't want our guests to get the wrong impression of you," Daphne snippily said, "Do we, Astoria, after all these years?"

"Hey!" shouted Astoria.

"Girls," said Eleanor looking at the grandfather's clock in the room, "Our guests will be arriving and we've already wasted five minutes having to listen to your arguing. That would not look well for all of us, now will it?"

Both girls immediately stopped, knowing that their mother was also able to intimidate them without trouble. Even their father, though loathe to admit it, couldn't really find reason to stand up to his wife, even if he wanted to. When his wife set her mind to something, she'll go for it and not let anything or anyone stand in her way, especially when it comes to family. Anyone who dares, well, they receive a painful reminder. Joseph is well aware of that, and besides, he reasoned, who would risk messing with an angry woman, especially your wife and the mother of your children?

After the children stopped arguing, they waited for the rest of the time until their guests arrived. To pass the time, the girls played exploding snaps while the parents quietly talked on what they might discuss with their guests in addition to catching up on old times. More specifically, whether to discuss possible asylum in the United States should war become serious. As they discussed, the clock chimed to signal 11:30 AM. The family waited for their guests to arrive, but heard no knocking at the door or the floo. After a minute or two, the family wondered where their guests were. Exasperatedly, the sisters were deflated.

"Well, that was a downer," said Astoria.

"I hate to agree with you," said Daphne, "But I am." The parents worriedly looked to one another.

"Dear", said Eleanor, "you don't suppose-"

"Now Eleanor," said Joseph, "We both know that they aren't necessarily punctual but have more often than not been right on time. I honestly thought they'd be here much earlier."

They waited another ten minutes, but no sign of their guests came. The family wondered where their guests were, worried that something might happen. After waiting silently, Daphne spoke up.

"I don't understand," said Daphne, "What is keeping them so long? They would've told us if they were late."

"True," said Joseph, "I've known Frank for a long time and he isn't known for tardiness. Something must've happened to-"

Suddenly, a loud bang was heard. The family jumped, wondering if an attack was coming. Quietly, the family stood with Joseph taking his wand out and approaching the door. Eleanor took the girls closer to the clock in case of an attack. The wards warned them that someone tried to enter, which would only people to come in if the wards keyed on specific guests. As Joseph moved closely, a bang was heard and a bright and jovial shout came after.

"Ahoy,Greenroots! Hope we're not too late for the party! What, with the wards not being open to us!"

The entire family heard the voice but didn't see anyone. Daphne, eyes widened with realization, jumped excitedly.

"I know that voice anywhere!" shouted Daphne, "Even after five years, I know who would speak like that!"

Suddenly, a pop was heard, and sitting in the couch the sisters were previously occupying was a 16 year old boy with bright blonde hair, wearing a fine blue business suit and sunglasses. The teenager flicked up his sunglasses, revealing bright blue eyes, a firm and full face, with a square jaw and showing a bright smile with perfect teeth. The young man then stood up and held out a pair of long arms.

"Come on, you didn't forget your favorite yank, did ya'? I reckon it's only been, what, almost five years, give or take a couple months since we last saw each other?"

Without warning, the two girls jumped on the teen in excitement and laughter as the teen grabbed hold of them. The two girls were jubilant in seeing the stranger popping up in their home.

"Brent, we missed you!" shouted Daphne, "It's been ages and you haven't written in a while!" "Did you bring presents?" Astoria asked.

The parents laughed at their children's antics as the teen, now known as Brent, laughed with the two Greengrass girls.

"Ease up there, ladies," Brent said loud enough, "We have plenty to catch up on."

"I had a bad feeling on letting you convince me to wait past our schedule," said a rougher voice, "Five years since we've last come to this god forsaken country, and you've already got the girls asking for presents."

Just like Brent, the voice was disembodied, and behind the couch the parents sat in, a man appeared. This one was in his early 50's, had speckles of grey in his black hair, brown eyes, a square face and stood very tall at 6'4. He also wore a business suit, albeit black, and stood facing the mass of children in the couch across from him. With an amused smirk, the man said

"Brent Linden, one of these days you're gonna give everyone a heart attack with your antics. You most certainly got it from your mother." Brent laughed, and the two girls jumped off and went onto the couch to hug the older man.

"Frank!" the two girls shouted. The man heartily chuckled and hugged both girls as they got to the couch.

"Oh, you two have gotten bigger," said the man known as Frank, "Certainly got your mother's looks instead of your father's, a good thing to considering how dreadful he is."

"Oh, still have that charm Frank," said Eleanor as she walked over and hugged the man as well. Frank moved one arm to envelop Eleanor and kiss her cheek, which Eleanor replied in kind. Joseph then moved up closer to the group.

"You old fool!" shouted Joseph although humorously, "This god-forsaken country as you call it has seen better days than your country has in its entire history, and you've spoiled my daughters with your presents. You Americans are so materialistic it's not funny at all. Also, I am their father so Eleanor's traits are mixed with mine."

Frank evilly smirked at Joseph. "Oh, is that so?" asked Frank.

Eleanor pathetically attempted to stop the laugh coming up, knowing full well what the men were trying to do. '_Uh-oh'_, though Eleanor, '_Already these two are trying to go at it.'_

"Yes, I believe so," said Joseph, "My daughters have their mother's beauty, but I have given them their strength and discipline."

"Oh, excuse me, kind sir," said Frank while in a mock-bow, "Forgive me for suggesting that the girls shouldn't feel like they're princesses if their evil parents keep them in this haunted home. Speaking of home, you owe me a bit of money for the bet we made on the Quidditch Cup."

"Oh, you have plenty of money already," said Joseph, "And that one was cancelled."

"Don't try to get out of this one," Frank threatened with a finger, "That is only a sample of other 'grievances' you've not resolved with me."

"Why, I never," said Joseph until he suddenly laughed and both men did. The two men heartily hugged and slapped each other's backs.

Brent then moved up, showing his full height which, at his age, was an impressive 6'4 like Frank was. He came to hug Eleanor and kiss her cheek and shake Joseph's hand. It was certainly a joyous occasion. The guests all sat down in the living room, with the Lindens sitting in the couch the Greengrass sisters were in while the Greengrass family sat in the couch across from them.

"Well, now that we're all settled," said Joseph, "Let's have some tea, shall we?"

"Earl Grey?" asked Frank, "The last time we had tea here we ended up drinking, what was that tea again? Black I know it wasn't. Green? No. What was that?"

"I truly don't recall, Frank," said Eleanor, "But I don't think we drank tea at all." A hearty laugh came from Frank. "So, true, my dear," said Frank, "so true indeed."

Meanwhile, the Greengrass sisters were anxious to ask some questions, which the rest of the group knew very well.

"So what's going on in America?" asked Daphne, "Have you actually considered working for a Ministry, Brent?"

"Did you cause trouble?" asked Astoria, "Were you able to get away with it?"

"Are you looking to be the next Minister of Magic in America?" asked Daphne.

"Are you gonna come work here and stay with us?" Astoria asked. The adults laughed, amused by the girls' enthusiasm. Brent, however, gave a sly grin in response.

"Still deciding on what to do," Brent said, "I haven't decided yet on whether I want to work like my dad or strike out on my own. Being a troublemaker, not so much, otherwise I wouldn't even make Minister of Magic in any country and staying with you girls wouldn't be good at all."

Everyone laughed at the girls' pout, but it didn't reach far across their faces. The girls adored Brent, seeing him as the big brother they never had. A small pop was heard, and the party turned to a house elf standing on the table.

"Mis'er and Missus," said the elf, "Lunch is ready. Does family wish to move to dining room now?"

"Now is quite alright," said Joseph, "I was actually going to suggest moving into the dining room. We'll be coming right about now."

"Very good, Mis'er," said the elf snapping its fingers, "Lunch is now set on table." With a pop, the elf disappeared. The elder Greengrasses stood up followed up their daughters and the Lindens.

"Well now," said Eleanor, "Let's not waste anymore time now, shall we?" As she said it, she eyed the Lindens suspiciously as if expecting some last minute pranks. The Lindens, especially Brent, gave innocent faces to suggest otherwise. With a grinning nod, Eleanor spoke.

"Then let us move to the dining room for lunch. We have much to catch up on." "That we do, Eleanor," said Frank, "That we do."

The party of six moved to the dining room, with Frank and Eleanor taking the chairs at the ends of the table while Frank sat to Frank's right and Brent to the left. Daphne sat to her mother's right while Astoria sat at the left. A bowl of beef stew and a salad was set out on the table after elf magic preserved the already prepared food.

"It's always a good thing that house elves can make even the dullest things tasteful," Brent commented, "It's made us spoiled."

"Yes it has," said Joseph, "And some families, unfortunately, have taken it for granted."

"Yes," Eleanor interjected, "Remember the Malfoys?" Joseph chuckled at that, remembering very well what happened with the Malfoys and how their elf got out of their household.

"Oh yes," said Joseph, "That was a right state Lucius was left in. All thanks to that Potter boy, I swear he's more Slytherin than he lets on." At that, the elder Greengrass blushed, and her sister giggled at it. The Lindens perked up and suspiciously eyed Daphne as she vainly tried to hide her face. Mrs. Greengrass' eyes danced with mirth while Mr. Greengrass adopted a stoic and concerning face.

"Well now," said Frank with a smile, "Looks like my honorary niece has her sights set on the famous 'Boy-Who-Lived'." Brent snorted, causing Frank to eye him disdainfully.

"Come on, dad," said Brent, "Why bother with a guy who's been labeled in the worst possible way in the press?" Frank looked at Brent with a full on glare that made his son cower.

"Brent, you of all people should know that the press is never right when it comes to salacious stories", Frank reproached his son, "Especially when it comes to the _Daily Prophet_ and those idiots at the Ministry. Sorry for that everyone." Joseph waved off the comment, knowing full well that it was the truth while the rest of the family giggled.

"The US is not that much better," Frank continued, "but at least some things are done in regards to facts. Fudge is quite the fool and it's amazing the British world hasn't fallen sooner with him at the helm. They don't even follow their own laws putting him in front of the Wizengamot for underage magic and not even use Veritaserum or pensieve memories, as permitted by law. That's something the US has struggled for years with before they started piecing things together. So keep in mind, Brent that politics here run the press and Harry Potter's been the victim of that."

At his father's brief lecture, Brent nodded slowly understanding what his father said. Frank also whispered, "Not to mention what your mother found about him before hand. Let's not forget that alright?" Brent nodded subtly while the girls tried to hold in their laughter but snorts escaped them. Joseph, however, noticed it and wondered what it was Frank said to his son, but Joseph thought to hold on to that for later.

Brent eyed the sisters with a mock glare, causing the sisters to let out more laughs. Eleanor chuckled at the scene in front of her.

"I never thought that I would see the day that Frank Linden," said Eleanor in a haughty tone, "self-proclaimed political indifference, would be a contestant in the political arena." Frank and Joseph chuckled at the comment.

"Indeed, Eleanor," said Joseph, "Perhaps things changed more so than I thought since those years passed the last time we met. You were more of a, what's the American term, libertarian was it not?" Frank mock laughed at the comment.

"No, no," said Frank, "Not quite like that, but I did do my darndest to avoid politicking. Though, with government affairs being more prominent, I've had to play that game as well just like being a lawyer would be."

Joseph nodded as the food was being passed around, knowing full well the political games being played within the Ministry and the Wizengamot.

"Too true," said Joseph, "Much too true. As you've mentioned, Harry Potter's trial was big news for his use of magic underage. I was really surprised that Fudge wanted a trial in front of the Wizengamot. It was foolish but Fudge demanded it." The group solemnly nodded and paused from their lunch for a brief moment until Eleanor decided to take the lead.

"Oh, let's not talk about politics everyone," Eleanor interjected, "Let's all enjoy lunch and catch up on old times." At that the group went back to eating, until Eleanor started the small talk. "So Brent," said Eleanor, "Since you asked who would even consider associating with such a troublesome figure-"

Brent stopped eating as he heard it, and the girls giggled at their mother's comment while the men prepared for what they knew would've come from any of them.

"Have you found any female friends to seriously consider dating?" Eleanor asked sweetly.

Brent swallowed his food, and smoothed out his clothes to appear collected, but the rest knew he was internally embarrassed.

"Well Eleanor," said Brent, "I haven't gotten much the time, what with school and everything. I mean, I just took my N.E.W.T.'s and graduated from Salem."

The family gasped. "Good heavens," said Eleanor, "You graduated a year early at sixteen?"

"Took a lot of courses," replied Brent, "I'm looking at law and medicine, also business. So I focused on courses related to those and got high grades to take them for my final year." At the looks of confusion on the Greengrasses' faces, Frank stepped in.

"Brent actually skipped a grade before going to Salem," said Frank causing his son to blush, "He had done very well on his kindergarten courses that he skipped the first grade and went to Salem a year earlier than most kids would. He did very well on his O.W.L.'s, receiving the highest marks in Potions, Herbology, History, Defense, and Arithmancy. The others like Runes and Charms he got E's, but did well enough to take them in his final year and some more courses since he was focusing on his interests."

Brent blushed at Frank's revelation while the Greengrasses nodded, though still wide-eyed at Brent's revealing of taking the major wizarding tests early.

"My word," Joseph exclaimed, "that's quite extraordinary. There have been cases of perfect scores, of course, but not many at quite a young age."

"Well, I wanted to try sir," said Brent, "I mean the worst would be holding me back a year cause I pretty much excelled ahead of others."

"Well, you did ignore Divination and Care of Magical Creatures," replied Frank, "Not to mention you were pretty bad at languages at one point, and took years to actually greet correctly in French."

"Thanks dad," Brent sarcastically said, "Let everyone feel great that I'm not good at something. I actually do better in Japanese and I improved my French, thank you very much."

"You're welcome," said Frank, "Not to mention the private tutelage you received and this past summer you spent shadowing professionals in your desired fields."

Brent blushed red at his dad's comments, while the Greengrasses were wide-eyed in with disbelief. To hear that a young student was able to do so well and receive private tutelage for his desired fields was remarkable. Brent no doubt would have plenty of career choices. Joseph cleared his throat to speak.

"Then am I correct to assume," Joseph said, "that young Brent has been accepted to a university?"

Frank chuckled, looking to Brent. With an anguished moan, Brent nodded.

"Well sir," replied Brent, "I managed to avoid having to take extra classes in my last two years." The family chuckled at the comment, though the Greengrass girls were more restrained due to envy and awe in Brent's success at the same age.

"I just followed the curriculum in the courses I didn't take in fifth year when I tried for sixth year ones and took on additional courses that I never really considered like Muggle Studies and Care for Magical Creatures," Brent said, "Admittedly, I wasn't a big fan of either but it kept me interested. I then applied to medical and law school in the muggle world."

Daphne then spoke up. "Wait, how were you able to study for school in the Muggle world? Is it any different from Britain's?" Brent turned to Daphne and smiled.

"Unlike Britain," said Brent, "American schools don't just focus on magic. High schools and universities are still operating independent of each other, but magical education is based on non-magical, aka Muggles, education. In addition, those with magical abilities are encouraged to study science and mathematics. Even if they do not, they learn that there's a bit of science and math to go with magic. For example, there have been attempts to apply chemistry and biology to magic, though not to great success. Still, there's an interest in combining magic with non-magical ideas to the point of magic being able to operate with technology."

The Greengrasses were listening intently and were intrigued by the things America does differently from Britain.

"Interesting," gasped Eleanor, "Using muggle devices in a magical environment? That's never been done before."

"It's true," replied Frank, "As Brent mentioned, it's been encouraged in the US wizarding world to apply non-magical ideas to magic. Technology is one example, but not everyone does it due to personal opinion. In the very least the magical world in America is made aware of the non-magical world. It also helps when political leaders are made aware, especially the President. Hey, the US Constitution was the model for the American magical government when the colonies fought for independence, so there is recognition by wizards and witches for their non-magical counterparts."

"Amazing," said Daphne, "If Britain could do that we wouldn't be so off-putting to muggles when we go out."

"Like Mr. Weasely?" asked Astoria, "Don't forget how he and others dress in attempts to go muggle." Snickers came out from the girls, while Eleanor gave a semi-glare to them. Frank laughed with mirth.

"Well, I've heard some silly things done by wizards to blend in. We just love to live in both worlds."

"What about your magical creatures?" asked Joseph, "Surely there must be differences with those things like veelas and werewolves?"

"That Mr. Greengrass", replied Brent "Is where most are personally glad they could live in the US or any other country for that matter. Similar to the non-magical world, there were political movements to limit rights of and/or eradicate creatures or protect their rights. Major reforms took place to give equal opportunity. Veelas are protected just as much as the next wizard or non-magical from any harassment. House elves are to be treated fairly and are protected when they feel their rights are infringed or being treated badly."

"Werewolves are a tricky situation when they attack without use of the Wolfsbane potion. They can work but only if there's a way to accommodate for the monthly full moon and take their potions. Now there are rare lunar phenomena, but that isn't considered to important. For those who do refuse the potion, they're kept on probation to make sure they do not attack anyone. Yes, it seems cruel, but it's to prevent lycanthropy from spreading wantonly. It's similar to the AIDS epidemic that struck non-magical beings, where people get discriminated for having a disease they might not be responsible for. Regulated, yes due to fears of outbreaks of vampire and werewolf attacks, but for the most part things are good for all sides. Other things like foster care can get tricky, but things are usually done for the betterment of all sides."

"My goodness," said Eleanor, "You're certainly on your way to one or two of your career interests, Brent. And still you're both very involved. It's a good thing the Greengrass family took your advice to invest in things non-magical."

"Well, that's only after a long argument from Frank about the best of muggle business," said Joseph, "as well as convincing my father how the family could further itself with such advice."

"Oh?" asked Frank, "I thought I was giving a good lecture to you." The men laughed as they if they were friends since childhood.

During the next couple of hours, lunch was finished and the party moved to the sitting room. Brent showed the Greengrasses his prowess, having everyone stand up and transfigure the table, couches, and chairs into rabbits. The family was stunned, for transfiguring multiple objects was taxing on one's magical core and Brent did it with ease. Brent would explain that it was due to conditioning and physical exercise that he was able to perform such a feat and could repeat such actions for long periods of time, further impressing the Greengrasses. After returning their furniture, the families sat back down to continue their discussions, with the parents sitting across from the Lindens while Daphne sat to the left of her mother in one chair and Astoria in the other next to her father. It was there that they would soon learn an interesting piece of news from the Lindens.

"Oh, you are so lucky," Daphne said with envy, "To be able to do such things like transfiguration with ease. It's much unfair that we're about the same age as you and you've already graduated."

"Oh, don't worry," Brent said with a sly grin, "I'm just too good for you to follow. What, with my high IQ and impressive physique-, oof!" Before Brent could finish, Frank head slapped his son.

"Thank goodness I made a good friend in a non-magical government agent," said Frank, "It certainly helps in keeping idiot comments to a minimum."

The family chuckled at Brent's reaction, to which he pouted.

"Dad, I don't understand how you can stand that old geezer."

"Watch it son," warned Frank, "He's been able to keep his agents in line and focused on finishing an assignment. Plus, he's a good poker buddy when I'm in Washington, D.C., so don't disrespect him."

"Well, this has certainly been an enlightening experience," said Eleanor mirthfully, "It's been much too long since we last did something like this."

At that, the Linden men were slightly downcast, clearly remembering something of vast importance. The Greengrasses were also somber as they remember that the last time they were with the Lindens there was one more person to the group.

"Too true," said Frank, "I only wish Eliza was here. She would be happy to see you folks again."

"Auntie Liz," breathed Daphne, "It's still hard to believe." Brent only nodded slowly, clearly allowing painful memories to surface.

"Yeah, it is," said Brent, "She should've been here with us. Doing what we're doing now."

Eleanor leaned over and put a hand on Brent's, clearly showing her sympathy and understanding of what they're going through even now.

"A little over five years," said Frank, "Still only yesterday it seems."

"I truly wished we came to the funeral," said Joseph with tears glistening in his eyes, "She was always considered an aunt for our girls. Always someone they could talk to outside of their mother. She just had a way of lighting up a room."

"Aye," said Eleanor, "Even sending a letter or floo call just to see how we're doing and if she could help. She was selfless almost to a fault, and to be taken away like that, it's unfair."

"It's okay Mrs. Greengrass," Brent politely said, "It happened while your daughters were in school, so it's not like we could force you to come."

"Oh no," said Frank, "We should've come. It was difficult to tell the girls when they came home for the summer but we really wanted to go before that. You were the closest to relatives we have without any relation to blood."

"We couldn't believe it when dad told us," said Astoria with tears streaming down her face, "It was hard to understand."

"You weren't at Hogwarts yet," said Daphne, "Imagine my reaction when I came home from the Express and find out from mother and father that Liz passed away. I cried the whole day."

"And I held you in this very room," said Joseph, "it hurt to know we couldn't be there at that time. Eleanor and I wrote and floo called you when we found out. We didn't get an owl back though, so we tried the floo."

"I did apologize for that," said Frank, "But I already was emotionally drained after her passing, so I couldn't reply right away. When you floo called, I hurried over, just glad to see another face."

"You all came at least that summer," said Brent, "We were all upset." The family nodded, solemnly remembering when the Greengrasses came after the funeral was finished.

**Flashback**

It was during that summer in 1992 the Greengrasses visited the Lindens in their home, the mood somber. After the Greengrasses came by, they were having tea when Joseph spoke.

_"Do you have any idea how this happened?" _Joseph asked, _"Surely this must have been a natural death." _

Frank, however, shook his head.

_"I don't believe that for even a second_", replied Frank, _"Eliza was a healthy woman. Fit as a fiddle, strong as an ox despite her elegant figure. No, I can't believe that. The medical experts say otherwise, but I don't. She was a beautiful soul."_

Joseph nodded, in which Eleanor continued.

_"You were already asked this"_, said Eleanor, _"but you don't think there are any enemies she had, do you? With her position and the careers you both have, do you think you were targeted?" _Frank only sighed while holding his son.

_"You wouldn't believe how genuine she was," _replied Frank, _"even as a civil rights lawyer. No, I don't believe she had any enemies, she was well-respected. Me, probably considering the competition I would face in business. But I can't believe that. This was too organized."_

At that, the Greengrasses' eyebrows rose up.

_"Or-organized?" _stuttered Eleanor, _"Wh-why do you say that? Could it really be something else?"_ Frank nodded.

_"What could you possibly make you think that_ asked Joseph, _"You don't truly believe someone would murder her?"_

The children had no idea what the adults were talking about, but they subconsciously flinched at the tension that was building in the room. The Greengrass daughters held their mother tightly while their mother put each arm around the girls. Frank gave a hard glare while holding a young Brent, sitting strong while staring down Joseph Greengrass.

_"I've seen the body"_, replied Frank in a calm but strong voice, _"My wife's body. There is absolutely no way she was a victim of stroke. I've asked for an investigation, pulling strings to get it done! I believe that she was murdered! She never took anything! Drugs, absolutely not! She was healthy beyond belief! Her body was found holding medicinal bottles, alcohol, and a gun. Supposedly, she would shoot herself if nothing else. No, I can only suspect that someone wanted her dead. She was working on something important, she told me that. Not directly, mind you, but I know she was working on it. She could not be dead for any other reason than murder!"_

The Greengrasses were eyeing Frank with pity, in which only angered Frank. It would worsen with one comment by Joseph, Frank's longtime friend, through meetings with some of the less savory in society.

_"I'm truly sorry," _said Joseph, _"She was a beautiful soul, no doubt. It's just that she worked in a career that would've put her in harm's way. I warned you both that looking into something like the Death Eaters would be dangerous. I've even heard rumors of Lucius Malfoy giving subtle hints-"_

_"What hints?" _asked Frank.

At that, Joseph's heart dropped. He didn't want to say what he heard but it wasn't something that can be ignored. With steel resolve, Joseph spoke.

_"Lucius said that your wife,"_ said Joseph with a trembling voice, _"Was asking for trouble, looking into things she shouldn't be doing. Something bad would happen if she didn't stop."_

_"What did he say, exactly?" _asked Frank. _"That she would meet an unfortunate end,"_ Joseph continued, "_She would meet the same end as the Potter mudblood."_

At that, Eleanor held her daughters tightly and waited for the inevitable explosion. Frank put his son down on the floor and immediately stood up with a silent fury.

_"What does that mean?"_ asked Frank, _"Why would he even suggest that?"_

Joseph, already starting it, pushed forward. _"Please Frank"_, said Joseph with trembling hands, _"I didn't think of it as serious with Lucius getting off charges as a Death eater. It was a few months before that-"_

Immediately, Frank exploded with rage.

"_You didn't bother to find out?" _shouted Frank, _"You really thought Eliza was just a mudblood to you? Are all of you the same mind as Voldemort?"_ Frank ignored the shivers in the family at the Dark Lord's name. Frank snorted in contempt.

_"Pitiful,"_ said Frank, _"You have no idea what she went through before she came to America! Blood purity was the reason why she left her place of birth and she lost her family to that bastard."_

At that, the Greengrasses were stunned. They never knew that Eliza had any roots in England, for the years they've known one another Eliza never mentioned that she ever lived in England. While Frank's rant went on, the girls whimpered and Frank, somehow hearing them, calmed down but continued in a steel tone.

_"Eliza"_, started Frank, "_came from a family that was very powerful but didn't believe in that nonsense. She tried to convince her relatives to come live with her in the US. They told her that it wasn't possible, for they were already heavily involved. Her cousin told her that she was safer in the US and that they would be fine. She hesitantly accepted their decision, but worried that something would go wrong. When she lost them, she wished since that very day she had done things to help her cousin, his wife and child survive. For days she grieved over those losses, wondering if she could have done something differently, not having any idea what happened to her nephew, only that he was hidden and that she should've been allowed to care for him after her cousin's intended guardians were not able to. For almost ten years she still wished to find him, with nothing working. And she still carried it with her till her dying day and I cried with her, wishing I could take that pain away."_

The Greengrasses were surprised to hear that she had family but left when the war became serious. To hear that she had a brother, a sister-in-law, and a nephew was a surprise, followed by the fact she came from a powerful and well-connected wizarding family. While they thought that, Frank continued his speech.

_"She saw how painful it was for people who weren't Purebloods treated badly, same with squibs from pureblood families. She never understood the reason for this, always wondering how one's blood relates to abilities. Her family, thankfully, hated those thoughts and tried to teach their kids right. Even so, there those who still see and treat muggleborns and non-magicals as less than dirt. In the US it's seen as a source of pride, and one that helped bring about unity for our nation's independence, even with other purebloods and muggles. That doesn't mean everything was solved, where race and religion is seen as a source of discriminating against someone. Even so, she wanted to live in a world where everything was equal; a person would have the same opportunities as the next."_

_"Have you ever heard of a line that goes something like 'Judge not for the color of their skin, but for the content of their character'?"_ The Greengrasses shook their heads. _"That comes from a person who led the fight for equality in this country"_, replied Frank, _"In spite of all the threats and even with his life ended by hate, he fought to give all people of different skin tones rights that white people enjoyed. He wanted to stop segregation, bring about fair opportunity for jobs and education, to bring in a future that would have people judged by their actions, the kind of person they are. Now you're not sure who I'm talking about, are you?"_ The family didn't respond.

_"That person was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr," _replied Frank, _"He wasn't a wizard, or even a squib. He was a normal being, a non-magical, a colored person who stood for one's liberties. He didn't fight with words like a sword, for his words were to change people's minds. To prevent violence and use peaceful means to encourage equality, even when violence did take his life, he worked to end discrimination. Even if he wasn't aware of magic, which to this day is claimed as fact, he would certainly tell you now that hate comes from those who don't understand, who are afraid, and do not take even a little of their time to learn about others. He was a man who truly stood for what was just, something Eliza strived to achieve as well when she came to this country."_

Daphne looked up, stunned as her family that a non-wizard, even at the cost of his own life, worked to provide better things for all people. That a man fought without magic, without weapons, but words and actions that pushed a country to give people equal rights. She already knew that Britain's wizarding society didn't believe in that 'equality nonsense', many traditionalists remark, but it was a taboo thought in the British wizarding population that any muggle ideals would be used for any basis in their world. That was something Daphne inherently knew that her 'Auntie' worked for to break down barriers, regardless of whether it is a magical creature, a squib, a wizard or witch, or a non-magical being. The opportunity to fight for their rights she fought to protect and stand for those who feel oppressed. Meanwhile, Frank was calming down but still held some anger. He looked to the Greengrasses again.

"_I'm angry with what you said, Joseph, but I'm glad that you told me what Malfoy said. I don't know if anything would have changed if you told me what Malfoy said earlier, for I most likely wouldn't have been able to prove anything to get him extradited to the US. Still, you want your daughters safe and you're forced to play along with the elitists to keep a low profile. That's a double-edge sword, for you would avoid retribution from all of the Malfoys of the world, but you would face danger if you're forced to choose. I know you're family wanted to stay neutral, but someday you're gonna have to choose a side. Even if you don't fight, understand that you should not judge people based on their physical attributes but their ability. I know the Dark Lord's still around, suspect it even. You're gonna have to decide what to do when he does return or another Dark Lord arises. But understand, Eliza fought for what she believed in and I will gladly continue it, and so would Brent. Don't forget that, any of you."_

The Greengrasses solemnly nodded, knowing that Frank was right about the possibility of another war. They will certainly think of this moment, reminding themselves of what Eliza Linden was and what she fought for. She was a true soul and one that isn't easy to find.

_"We understand what you're saying Frank",_ Eleanor gently said, _"Believe us, we do. We've taught our daughters to not say such words against those who aren't better than us, especially after we met your family. It isn't their fault that they're born into a world that they don't have an understanding of. Wizards don't bother with the muggle world, thinking of them as waste of time and space. But we're not against you, Frank. We've accepted things from both worlds, and hope that Eliza's hopes and dreams come true. Please understand, though, that we are concerned for you and hope that you stay safe. Brent needs his father more than ever now, and you have to stay strong for him, for Eliza. You've been our closest friend and we hate to have to think of one day hearing that you've died for some reason. Please stay alive and fight for all of us."_

Frank nodded. _"Believe me, Eleanor"_, responded Frank, _"I'm not going to stop. I'll raise Brent to the best of my ability and support him in whatever way possible. I'm glad, though, that you've been cognizant of the things that have ultimately hurt people. We're facing changes in the US, in more ways than one. You'll soon face that in Britain, if not now already. Don't just stand idly when that happens. Being neutral won't save you the next time war breaks out. I want you all safe as well, but prepare for the worst."_

The Greengrasses nodded, knowing that Frank said the truth. For an hour longer, the group talked some more but in a somber mood. When it was time to leave, Frank asked one question that had been on their minds.

_"Frank"_, said Joseph, _"I'm truly sorry, even if you say it's not necessary. But I have to ask, who was the family you're wife was connected to? Why didn't she mention this before?"_

Frank sadly smiled, knowing it would have been asked.

_"I'll leave that up to you to answer the first question"_, replied Frank, _"I think you can guess who I'm talking about. For the second, she agreed with her family to keep a low profile just for safety's sake. I've known for a long time, and supported her decision even if it was painful. Someday I'll tell you, but I need to find out more of what she was digging up and what she found. For now, go home and look after your family, Joseph. Keep them safe."_

**End Flashback**

Joseph nodded, even though he was still confused. The two men shook hands, and Frank kissed Eleanor's cheek. He gave the girls hugs while Brent went to do the same with the Greengrasses. The family left via international portkey, and it would be some time before they met again.

Today, the families have reunited and now have caught up on some much needed years. It seemed like yesterday they last talked. The families came out of their musings and have now looked to the present. Eleanor spoke first.

"I must say," said Eleanor, "That there are still some questions that I have from the last time we've talked." "Indeed Eleanor," Frank interjected, "I'm still guessing but I have a couple guesses, however unlikely it is. But I think you know, don't you Frank? The message you've sent me said you found new information about your wife's death, as well as your wife's family. Will you tell us now?"

The Greengrass girls looked up with interest, wanting to know what it was that Eliza sought out when the whole story was brought up. Frank nodded, while Brent sat with his hands on his knees.

"Well", said Frank, "No point in beating around the bush. Yes, I may have found new information about Eliza's death, but I don't know yet." Brent involuntarily shivered, but kept his composure.

Frank continued saying "As for other things, I did discover something in one of her files. She hid it very well for I didn't know about that, or many other files for that matter, for years even when she was alive. But you're not gonna like what you'll hear."

At that comment, all of the Greengrasses tensed up. All of them wanted to know what it was Eliza was working on before she passed away, yet they didn't necessarily want to find out if she was involved in something illegal. Of course, that train of thought was ridiculous for Eliza was just too good and high standard to commit such acts.

"It really has to do with her family," continued Frank, "And more specifically, her father's side. It seems that she hasn't really lost all of her relatives." The Greengrasses were relieved, glad that Eliza didn't lose her entire family during Voldemort's reign of terror back then. Still, they were prepared for the worst that Frank would reveal.

"I'll be honest," said Frank, "It wasn't quite unexpected but at the same time it was. One of her final jobs actually involved Daphne."

At that, the Greengrasses had widened eyes, worry and shock prevalent in them. Daphne's was the worst, worried about what Frank found.

"What?" Daphne breathlessly asked. Frank nodded, while Brent picked it up.

"It's true, Daph," replied Brent, "We were both shocked, and mom must have been too."

"What is it?" asked Eleanor, fearfully grabbing her daughter's shoulders.

"It's nothing serious, Elle" replied Frank, "Unless you consider the fact that there's a contract the Greengrasses made, one that I don't know how aware you or your husband was."

At that, the elder Greengrasses were stunned while Daphne looked at them with confusion evident on her face.

"Mum, dad," Daphne spoke, "What's going on? What're they talking about?"

At that, the parents looked at their daughter, confusion on their faces as well.

"Daphne, there was a contract meant for me before I was born," replied Joseph, "It was supposed to be a marriage between the first son of our family and a daughter from another family, or vise versa. The family my father arranged it with was led by a man who only had one child, a son. It didn't happen because both families had sons, not to mention me being an only child, but it passed on to the next generation. It was intended to protect our family, but also done in secret through Gringotts so that nothing would be leaked out. I'm sorry, Daphne, but I didn't think that it would ever be activated."

At her father's admission, Daphne was stunned. Her father was the subject of a marriage contract? And now that it wasn't active before, it would be for her.

'Oh, Merlin!' thought Daphne, 'Please don't tell me that I'm to marry someone I don't even care about! Please not Malfoy! Please not Malfoy!'

At her daughter's worry, Eleanor rubbed her daughter's back.

"No Daphne", said Eleanor, "It isn't with anyone we wouldn't want to associate with like the Malfoys or Notts." At her mother's assurances, Daphne sighed in relief.

'At least not them', thought Daphne. The truth, however, would shock her family more while Frank continued on.

"Joseph, I have to ask how aware of the Januses you are?" asked Frank. Immediately Joseph and Eleanor sat up in shock.

"Wh-what did you just say?" asked Joseph, "The Januses? They're supposed to be a dead line. Are you trying something, Frank?" Frank shook his head no, causing more eyebrows to rise and jaws to drop.

"It's true," said Frank, "I wasn't aware of it either, but they had a lot of exposure to magic. There was actually a child, one that I found Eliza to be directly related to through a grandfather of hers. Merlin Emrys is her ancestor."

At this, the Greengrasses were speechless. Merlin? The most powerful wizard in history was Eliza's ancestor?

"In addition Joseph," continued Frank, "It's also the little-known fact that his wife was a healer, according to her family's history. We're hoping to determine that with Gringotts when we visit the British one, but so far, it's been determined that the contract was, like you said, made between your father and the head of another house. Now, the Januses did die out, at least in direct relatives. There was actually one left, a daughter, who married into another family. After her marriage, she had two children, both sons. One was obviously the family's patriarch, and had a son at a fairly old age. My wife is the daughter of the other son, who was also fairly old when she was born. He married into a muggle family, but passed away during the war. As you recall, my wife tried to get her cousin's family to safety but he didn't leave after much discussion. Before my wife left, she found the contract and took it with her to the US."

"But, I don't understand," said Eleanor, "How does this connect to Eliza, and for that matter, my husband?"

"Until today," continued Frank, "I never knew for the contract wasn't mentioned, if at all, and she couldn't find her nephew for fear of reprisal from anyone. Sometime after she passed, I finally found it and determined the authenticity through the US branch. We'll double check under advisement with the British branch, but we already knew who she was related to. As for the contract, it was agreed between both houses that it would pass on to the next generation and now it's being called into effect. Her uncle decreed that it would be within his direct family that the contract would be between his child and any child of Joseph's father. If he passed on without an heir, than it would be passed onto his brother's family, even though he married a non-magical being, and the contract would be in effect than. If that family died out without having an heir, than the contract would be declared null and void, of course it's obviously not at this point."

In shock, Daphne called out.

"How? When?" asked Daphne looking to her parents with anger, "You never thought this would happen?"

"Daphne, we wanted you safe," said Joseph, "In addition, we didn't know if we would have any child at all with the war going on. You were born after it ended so we didn't think it would happen."

"Unfortunately, that's not true," said Brent, "The contract was still in effect but only if the intended children were still alive. Daphne was, obviously, but the husband-to-be, my cousin so to speak, wasn't clear. He disappeared for ten years and I doubt he even has a clue it happened, assuming it's who we think it is."

At that, the entire family looked at them and instantly started drawing conclusions. Eliza's family, the one she left behind, could it really be? Brent's cousin was missing for ten years, and they only knew one other person who went through that. Joseph wondered for many years but didn't think much of it lately with all of the rumors going around. Daphne, on the other hand, dreaded the answer. There was just no way.

"Uncle Frank," Daphne quietly asked, "Do you know who my husband is?"

"Is Eliza related to who I think it is?" asked Joseph with a hint of fear, "It's only a guess, but no one's mentioned that particular family's other son when he left England years ago with his muggle wife. I just have a hard time believing it. Are you both certain of this?"

At that, Frank and Brent surreptitiously nodded to each other. Frank gave the final blow.

"Daphne," said Frank, "My wife is the daughter of one Janice Steifel, non-magical being, and one Horatio Potter, the younger brother of Charlus Potter. She is Horatio's only child, and the older cousin of James Potter, husband of Lily Evans Potter, and father of Harry Potter. You, Daphne Athena Greengrass, are contracted to be married to Harry James Potter."

At that proclamation, Daphne's eyes widened and her jaw dropped even more if possible. Upon hearing that Aunt Liz was a Potter and aunt to the Boy-Who-Lived, she couldn't believe it. All she could say barely with a squeak was a "What?"

The Lindens nodded and the entire Greengrass family was stunned into silence. The only sound was Astoria squealing in excitement.

"Merlin, Daphne!" shouted Astoria, "How lucky can you get?"

As soon as she said that, Daphne couldn't think of anything else and soon her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell forwards, with her mother's hand the only thing slowing down her fall. The entire family went to her while the Lindens moved up.

"Well, that went better than expected," Brent sarcastically said.

"It's only going to get better," said Frank, "After that it gets much worse for us."

Oh, how those words would be a foreshadowing of things to come.

A/N: Done! I hope you guys like this clean up I made and if not, as long as it's not flames, I'll take the comments for the next chapter. Now I hope by taking out the long speech and conversation my one OC had wasn't as over-the-top as some suggested, cause I really was OC heavy but still intend to use them and so I introduced them. I wanted to take up what I intended originally but it was pretty long so I'm gonna have to take more effort in wording and editing. Also, I hope Brent wasn't as uber powerful as that was another complaint being made. I wanted to make him a male Hermione, but I decided that he would be normal but just more polished, so to speak, a year earlier than others at his age would be. Hopefully that wasn't too bad. The flashback thing is something I'm gonna work on, so I'll wait and see how that'll turn out.


	3. Other PointsofView, Part 1

Hi all, it's taken me a bit to figure out the third chapter. This is gonna be a hodgepodge of things, but first it's got to be understood that my ideas don't always pan out, something common for all writers, but at least they're better planners and drafters than I am. I just made some clear ups according to phoneixflame, I think that's part of the pen name, but I PM'd the person and said I would clear up some family and age issues, so I cleared that up hopefully. This chapter's gonna be long, and I apologize, but I feel I need to get this out of the way so that I don't forget and explain how the Lindens found out. Harry will find out, it's just going to take a bit before he learns about the people he's related to, so no Harry in this chapter really.

Speaking of people, wow! So many story/author alerts and people already listed me as a fave! That's just surprising, cause I didn't expect that to happen at all. It was supposed to be slow-building I thought or just not a whole lot of attention until I make something highly touted like muggledad, drewhhr, munkeymaniac, or Christina-potter09 have done. It's truly surprising, though I'm guessing that they're mostly Harry/Daphne shippers, but I could be wrong. Thanx to the reviewers and alerts! I'll set up a guide for some of my oc's but I think it was pointless to even put up a poll so I'll take that down. Oh, and just out of curiosity, did anyone get the hint of who I was talking about in the last chapter about the D.C. agent who head slaps people? That's one of my X-over ideas influenced by others and other elements will show up later on.

Anyway, the usual disclaimer in which I don't own anything of intellectual importance and it's left to the actual creators.

Chapter 3: Other Points-of-View, Eliza's Memories Part 1

_Takes place right after the end of chapter 2_

Eleanor was trying to get her eldest daughter back to the realm of the conscious after the revelation of Daphne's betrothal to Harry Potter, aka the Boy-Who-Lived. It was truly a shock for the family to have heard that the marriage contract between the Potter and Greengrass families was still active. It has now passed on to the most available eldest son or daughter in either family. With Daphne as the eldest child, and a girl, she would be betrothed to a direct relative to Charlus Potter. The Potters were one of the most-respected families in Britain, though it fell in the eyes of many purebloods, i.e. the Blacks and Malfoys, when Charlus' younger brother married a muggle woman. The family accepted it with some reservations at the time. Charlus, though, was first set against it more so for fear of the woman's desire to be involved in the war. Still, according to Joseph's father, Charlus was friendly towards the woman thanks to his wife, thus allowing his brother to marry her.

The bigger shock, though, at least to Joseph and Eleanor, would be their friend, Eliza Linden, being a member of the Potter family. In all of their interactions with her, she hardly talked about them. Though it was hinted, Joseph still couldn't believe that she was the older cousin of James Potter. That adds on to the fact that she through the Potters is descended from one of the Peverell brothers _and_ the Janus family, a once proud and respected family that supposedly died out centuries ago. To hear from Frank that Gringotts had documents on the last Janus being a woman who descended from the greatest wizard to have ever lived was truly a knockout blow. If Gringotts even proved it further, then Harry Potter came from quite a family line. Still, more questions were left out and Joseph wanted to get to the bottom of it. His first priority, though, was getting Daphne to wake up from the shock of her betrothal.

Astoria was fanning her sister with a pillow, even though it was a thick one with tussles on its corners and hitting Daphne was hit in the face by them. Eleanor, meanwhile, was shaking Daphne's arm while trying to wake her up through soft spoken words. Joseph stood over Daphne while he also shook her shoulder. The Lindens, well, they were just sitting there with guilty faces. Astoria turned to look at them with exasperated eyes.

"Are you two going to help or not?" asked Astoria while still using her pillow fan, "It was you two who told Daphne her engagement."

"Technically," Brent started, "I only came along while dad told you what he found." As soon as he said that, Frank elbowed Brent in the ribs, causing him to go 'oof'.

"I know it was a stunner," said Frank moving to get up, "I was surprised too. She told me that she was related to the Potters, which isn't a well-known name in the States, but has been heard of. It's just that Eliza couldn't deal with the fact that she couldn't find her nephew."

"That brings up another question," said Eleanor, "When did she come to the US? Actually, when did her family move from England? It must've been before the war became more serious."

"I'll answer that after you get Daphne awake," replied Frank, "I want to tell that only once, but I'll have to tell my nephew about it too."

"You could tell then now, dad," said Brent, "Besides, mom wanted to tell them at some point."

Joseph's eyes widened while Eleanor immediately stopped what she was doing as she looked at the Linden man. Astoria was still fanning Daphne, only succeeding in annoying Daphne enough to make her swat at the pillow.

"Eliza wanted to tell us?" asked Joseph in shock, "Why did she not do so? She could've trusted us, couldn't she?"

"I suggested it to her," replied Frank while he turned to Brent with an annoyed stare, "When we first met you, it was the first time she visited since the war ended. Even before I met her, she made many attempts to convince her cousin's family to come to the US. She tried multiple times, through the floo, using a portkey, even apparating from various apparition points."

The Greengrass parents were surprised at Eliza's apparition attempt over long distances. That is a very difficult and risky attempt for any magical being.

"She really tried to convince them to come", said Frank, "Unfortunately, the Potters were heavily involved and Eliza couldn't get them to come with her. Before that, her parents moved to the US due to the threats against them about a year before she was born. Since Horatio was a member of a prominent family, it helped that he looked overseas and he chose America, with help from some ministry insiders. His wife, though, was a bit more difficult since she was from Ireland and was a farmer's daughter. She didn't want to leave her family behind, but after convincing her that she could visit her family with magical transportation, she came along with her family's blessing to leave. Charlus kept in touch with them even after they left, though it wouldn't be easy to see them often especially when they weren't exactly aware of muggle transportation. Not to mention that Horatio's family was being targeted by Death Eaters."

At that, Daphne began to stir and she woke up. Eleanor put her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "Darling, are you alright?" asked Eleanor.

Daphne rubbed her eyes, as though she was heavily sleeping. "I think so," replied Daphne, "I just had the most unusual dream. The Lindens came and told us about what they were doing lately. They came across something Auntie Liz, maybe connected with her death. Then they tell me that she's Harry Potter's aunt on her father's side and that I'm to marry him according to some kind of contract. That's something else, huh?"

"Well, too bad Daph," said Brent, "We're right here, and you weren't dreaming about being cousin Harry's wife-to-be."

Suddenly, Daphne jumped up almost knocking her sister down. She stared at her parents and then to the Lindens, who were right across from her. Daphne's legs began to wobble, and her mother stood to stabilize her.

"I-It…r-r-r-really…." Daphne stumbled, "You're being serious? I'm engaged to Harry Potter and he's Eliza's nephew?"

Frank and Brent both nodded, causing Daphne to feel lightheaded. Her mother helped her to her chair to prevent her from falling.

"Honey," said Eleanor, "it's true. All of it is true, you, Harry Potter, and Eliza. You're really engaged to the Potter family."

"On the bright side," said Brent, "You won't have to worry about marrying me for now. If Harry dies, I'd have to be the one you marry. If you die, Astoria would be next to either Harry or me. So as much as I like you girls, I'm not stupid enough to think we're gonna be on good terms in marriage."

Daphne's eyes immediately bugged out, staring at everyone in confusion. "What?" asked a stunned Daphne, "You…Potter…? What's going on?"

"Let me explain what I told your parents before you got up," replied Frank. He would precede in a couple minutes what he told the Greengrasses about Eliza's connections to the Potters, as well as how and when they came to the United States, and how Eliza tried to convince her cousin's family to leave England during the war.

"So let me get this straight," said Daphne, "Eliza's father's marriage to a muggle was frowned upon and that led to death threats against them, forcing them to move, come to the US, still keeping in touch with her relatives, and attempts to bring her cousin's family over but couldn't in the end. Now, there's a marriage contract she's held onto and you're now telling us this?"

Frank nodded while Brent, in a chipper mood, said "Yep, that's the short of it."

Daphne leaned back in her chair with a sigh. "Bugger me," groaned Daphne, "And here I wonder why mum and dad were curious about Eliza's parents. I don't recall her ever mentioning her parents' lives but now it makes sense."

"It certainly does," said Joseph, "Horatio Potter's marriage to a muggle was scandalous to many, with the exception of the Longbottoms and a few others. We've met her mother a couple times in the US, but not really in Britain, thus I don't believe we truly knew. As for her father, well, he really hid himself well. Still, how did she obtain the contract and why wasn't it activated before?"

Frank shrugged at the question. "Honestly," replied Frank, "I have no idea. Harry didn't die, that much is obvious. It should've been called upon. Eliza obtained the actual contract before the night of Voldemort's attack on Godric's Hollow."

Frank ignored the Greengrasses' shiver at Voldemort's name, choosing to continue on. "I was there actually a few times when she visited them. Brent was only a baby really, so we only took him a couple times before Harry was born. I remember them, nice folks the Potters were. Anyway, Eliza must've gotten the contract from the Potters, probably Lily since I remember clearly that she took Liz up to see Harry. I tried to talk to James about leaving or receiving help, but he was dead set, no pun intended, to stay and fight. Honestly, he really put a lot of faith in Dumbledore and the Fidelius Charm. I truly wished I could've done more, same with Eliza. Eliza came back from the nursery with a withdrawn look while having an arm around Lily as she carried Harry. We all gave our last good-byes, hoping to see them one more time. The next night you all know what happened."

The Greengrasses nodded. They knew full well what happened that Halloween night. That was supposed to be Voldemort's end, but it seems it only delayed the inevitable. Frank continued on, however.

"I honestly didn't know how she got it, but she hid it pretty well. When we came back, she went straight to Brent and immediately broke down as he held him." Brent's eyes glistened upon hearing that, remembering fully well how his mother would act the day before and of the attacks on her cousin's family. At just a year old, it truly saddened him to see her like that, the pain and anguish on her face, the feeling of helplessness. She truly wanted to bring them over and hide them in the US with her family. Brent would've grown up with Harry Potter, but that won't happen now he thought. He could only hope he'd connect with him now.

"I held her knowing full well her anguish," said Frank with a trembling voice, "After an hour or so, she let Brent back in his bed. I took over while she went to her office. She must've hidden it but I truly didn't know where she put it. She always hides her case files well. Not that I would need to see them, but she was cautious. At that time, she came up to me with a conviction in her voice that I have never heard her before. Even in the courtroom she never was that set on something. Still, that whole night was torturous, especially with her parents."

With that, Frank reached within his suit pocket and pulled out a small metal case. He laid it out on the table, and waved his hand, causing the case to enlarge. The Greengrasses weren't actually surprised at it, knowing full well his mastery over wandless magic. Frank opened the case and pulled out a smaller case. He opened it and pulled out vial with a slivery substance within it. He then went to his case again and pulled out a chalice of some sort, which the Greengrasses suspected he had an endless trunk.

"I have a pensieve to help show you what I'm talking about," said Frank, "and Eliza left her memories with me. She also hid them pretty well, which I always wondered why. It took me quite a bit of time to find them, and while it doesn't necessarily tell me anything in connection to her death, it does explain how she got the contract with her."

Frank opened the vial and used his wandless magic to put the memory into the pensieve. "We've already seen it, but you all might want to see it as well to know what Brent and I saw in regards to her obtainment of the contract," said Frank.

Joseph turned to his family, who all gave him silent looks that they wanted to go. Daphne especially since she wanted to know how this came in the Lindens' possession. Joseph looked back to the Lindens and nodded. Frank and Brent also stepped up to the pensieve and prepared to go into it.

"Don't worry about safety," said Brent, "We have wards and alarms set up on this thing just to make sure someone doesn't try anything. If something does happen, it'll eject us back to where we were even if the pensieve was falling over the table. It shouldn't happen, but we also put on charms to lessen our risks."

At that, the entire family stepped forward. Everyone held hands as they prepared to dive into the pensieve.

"Hold on everyone," said Frank, "We're going to the moment where Eliza and I went to Godric's Hollow. That's where we'll see how Eliza had the contract."

At that, Frank touched the pensieve and the group went into it, watching Eliza Linden's memories of the night before the attack on Godric's Hollow.

**Pensieve, October 30, 1980, 10 PM British time**

The party of six landed in a hallway, gathering their bearings after going into the pensieve. The Greengrasses were looking around their current surroundings, taking everything in.

"Where are we?" asked Astoria.

"We're in the hallway", replied Brent, "Standing just outside Harry's nursery room."

Upon hearing that, Astoria squealed, causing her older sister to glare at her.

"Honestly, Stori!" exclaimed Daphne, "Must you be excited over everything?"

"But Daphne," whined Astoria, "We're going to see your husband as a baby! Maybe you can start thinking of how your children will look one day!"

"Oh my god!" shouted Daphne, "I'm not even sure I'm going to be able to marry Potter since I have never said a word to him! And now you're thinking about children! Please, Stori! I'm too young for that!"

The Greengrasses chuckled at that, but internally they realized that Daphne does have a point. Would Harry want to marry her? If not, would he want to buy out of it or would he be killed before hand since trouble always seems to be attracted to him? Those were just a couple points of contention.

"Well Daphne," Brent interjected, "I don't think you're gonna be able to worry about the possibility of marriage cause it's signed, sealed, and delivered. Blood magic, right dad?"

"Exactly," replied Frank, "So one question answered already for you."

Daphne gaped at the Lindens and turned to her parents. At their daughter's glint, Joseph raised his hand.

"Daphne, you already know the contract was meant to be active and would be fulfilled when both families have met one of the contract's requirements. Plus it's meant to continue on until one or both families die out if the intended participants haven't fulfilled it for whatever reason. It's like Brent said, the contract is foolproof."

Daphne huffed upon hearing her father's answer, but before more could be said, her mother gasped.

"Good heavens," said Eleanor, "I can't believe it!"

"Mother," said Daphne, "Wha-?"

At that, the Greengrasses turned to Eleanor's direction and saw two women. One of them was a face they haven't seen in years. Standing frozen in time, Eliza Linden was a beautiful woman, with jet black hair with a little streak of brown, a beautiful heart-shaped face, and piercing blue eyes. She was fairly tall for a woman, 5'10' approximately, with an athletic build combined with a ballerina's elegance that belied her emotional passion. It was a picture of the ideal woman, beautiful without going to extremes and containing an internal beauty. It wasn't the only thing that would surprise the Greengrasses.

Standing next to Eliza was a woman about a couple inches shorter than her, with fiery red hair, piercing emerald green eyes, and a well-rounded face. She had an average build but wouldn't be considered in any extreme weight category. She was a beauty in her own right and one who also showed a fire that combined with intelligence. Joseph immediately recognized the woman.

"Merlin," breathed Joseph, "Lily Potter."

At that, the girls were stunned out of their reverie upon seeing their godmother for the first time in years.

"That's Lily Potter?" asked Daphne, "My word. She was beautiful."

"Are you sure Liz wasn't Mrs. Potter's sister?" asked Astoria, "It almost feels like they're the same person." Frank chuckled at the question.

"No Astoria," replied Frank, "But when James introduced Lily to Eliza, they kind of started off on the wrong foot. Both were fiercely intelligent and that kind of brought out a competitive streak. Not to mention Eliza wasn't sure if Lily was after James materialistically."

"But both of them weren't purebloods," said Eleanor, "Surely that must've been common ground for them?"

"It was," replied Frank, "But those two were just so passionate and knowledgeable about a lot of things, they would go off into debates about what potions to use or spells to create. Arguments would ensue that neither James nor I would want to get in between our wives. It also didn't help that at first Eliza suspected Lily of going after James' inheritance, and Lily was angry to the point that she compared Eliza to a former friend of hers for calling her a 'mudblood'."

The family gasped. Eliza was never known to cause someone to be so angry that Lily Potter would consider her a pureblood bigot.

"That hurt her," said Frank, "She didn't like to be considered a pureblood bigot and I had to pull her aside to calm her down, in addition our family had to remind her that Lily didn't have an ulterior motive for James and that she wasn't being fair to her. Of course, James and his parents had to let Lily know that they were upset that their muggleborn cousin was compared to someone Lily knew hurt her. After those discussions, they kept their distance for a bit but it took some small talk to get them to start over. Eventually, they calmed down and started over. Both cleared the air with each other and let it be known that they both care for the men in their lives and their families. Of course, that didn't help in their intellectual debate, but it was better than what it was before."

After Frank's discussion, Brent held up his hand.

"We're in pause right now so we'll just get started."

"Wait," Frank interrupted, "You mean you froze the memory? How did you do that when we all came in together?"

"Trade secret," Brent replied and earning a head slap from his dad.

"No smart comments son," said Frank, "Just play the scene."

At Brent's pout, he waved his hand and started the memory. The two wives just walked up the stairs and moved towards the nursery but neither said a word. It wasn't until the women came up to the door that Eliza sniffed.

"I can't believe that this might be the last time I see Harry," said Eliza in a breaking voice, "None of you should have to go through this."

Lily put an arm around Eliza and held her tightly. She too was crying, albeit internally.

"I know Lizzie," said Lily, "But we've already been deep in this beforehand. Voldemort was just as dangerous during our final years at Hogwarts, even when we went to the Auror Academy. We have to fight."

As the two were talking, they heard some yelling downstairs, obviously their husbands arguing. Frank solemnly put his head down.

"That wasn't a bright moment for me," said Frank, "I was talking about the same thing, but we'll see that some other time if you want to."

Without an answer, the Greengrasses watched on in silence the two women. Lily looked up to Eliza, and placed a hand on her face.

"I'm just glad to have met you", said Lily, "however badly we started out. You truly cared for James like he was your brother. I'm glad to have met your husband and child, your parents who are also James' aunt and uncle. Those two are just an example of what we're fighting for." 

"I know," Eliza said solemnly, "I just wish you all came with us to the States. I wish that you didn't have to write out wills should anything happen to you. I just wish that Harry wouldn't have to be placed with people, even if they cared about him, because he should be with his birth parents. It's just not fair that you all have to go into hiding. I ought to just wipe Voldemort off the face of the earth so you don't have to go through this any longer."

Lily chuckled, knowing Eliza's anger was seeping out. Her anger, though, would easily be justified and backed up thanks to the considerable power she wielded and it was something very few could stand up to. Even fewer knew since Eliza kept her actual maiden name hidden. Her musings, though, were interrupted as the argument downstairs started to get louder and the baby behind the door would start to cry.

"Come on then," said Lily, "Let's try to stem the inevitable." With that, the two women entered the room.

The scene changed, and the observers were standing in obviously a nursery room, which was filled with toys, books, and had a crib in near the wall. They saw the two women standing over a crib, and moved closer. Daphne noticed movement in the crib and took a closer look. As soon as she did that, she gasped at the sight. A baby was wiggling around in the crib, no more than a couple months old and wrapped in a brown blanket. No doubt this was Harry Potter, at the age when he survived the killing curse. Daphne couldn't help but be starry-eyed, seeing her current classmate lying so innocently in his crib without a care in the world.

"So this is what my betrothed looked like as a baby?" Daphne spoke out loud, "It's too bad that I never got to know him as a toddler, but he doesn't look so bad now considering he's a cute looking baby."

"Don't need the details, Daph," said Brent, "I'm already disturbed as it is watching you look at my cousin." Daphne mock glared at Brent, but couldn't keep it up as she turned back to look at Harry's baby form. Soon, the rest of the Greengrasses looked and saw baby Harry.

"Boy Daphne", said Astoria, "I hope you two will have at least one good looking baby."

"Astoria!" shouted Daphne.

The elder Greengrasses were about to say something, but soon they watched the two women peering over the crib and playing with the baby Potter heir. Lily was soon humming a lullaby to soothe the baby, and Harry soon calmed down enough to watch contently the view above him.

"To be born during such a troublesome time when the only thing that matters to some people is one's blood," said Eliza, "There are innocent beings out there that are not even going see their first Hogwarts letter."

"That is why James and I are taking part in this battle against Voldemort's forces," said Lily, "It's because of Harry that we're fighting for something, one that is focused on making sure no one hurts any child regardless of one's blood status."

"Surely you don't believe that it'll be easy to bring about change after all this is over?" asked Eliza, "You know how backwards England is in terms of social development."

"I do," replied Lily, "I've experienced it firsthand how muggleborns and other beings are treated by the overall pureblood population. It will take time but this is something we must fight off to be able to attempt such changes. It's not like in the US or other countries that equality was obtained through peaceful means and government support. Our ministry is just so…so…"

"Brain-dead that even a mummy would look alive?" Eliza asked.

"I was going to say sluggish but that could work," said Lily.

Lily sighed as she caressed her son's face, looking into his eyes as he played. Harry's eyes were just like Lily's, piercing green that could break into a person's soul. Eliza placed an arm around Lily's shoulder, understanding what she was thinking.

"It's hard to believe that I'm a young mother," said Lily, "I was so scared when I found out I was pregnant, wondering if it should even happen."

"None of that Lils," said Eliza, "You made your choice and I'm personally glad. You told us how you and James discussed about the risks of bringing a child into this world. The two of you still went through with it, and it's with great pride that you have this little treasure in the world. I may not have been much older than you when I was carrying Brent, but I don't regret it when I was working to be a civil rights lawyer. I have everything a person could ask for and neither should you feel any differently. You just have to survive this, Lily, and watch him grow and have a family of his own."

Lily nodded. Suddenly without warning, she moved away and cast silencing and privacy wards with her wand. Confused, Eliza was about to move towards her when Lily spoke.

"When?" quietly asked Lily.

Eliza was confused at Lily's abrupt question. "I'm sorry?" asked Eliza.

"When did you and Frank get together?" asked Lily, "How did you get to be together?"

The questions confused Eliza. Lily already knew when Frank married her, but she answered anyway.

"We were married in the summer of 1978," replied Eliza, "After my second year of law school and Frank went into business. We were truly in love after seeing each other. Why are you asking me this?"

Lily seemed satisfied with her answer, but her next words were spoken in a monotone.

"No," said Lilly, "That isn't what I wanted to know."

Puzzled, Eliza felt her anger rise.

"I don't understand," Eliza replied coldly, "What is it you wanted to know?"

Lily met Eliza's coldness with a fierce tone. "If you want to know what I'm about to say then you have to swear an oath to not reveal anything what I'm about to tell you."

"No, you'll tell me what the hell this is about!" Eliza said in a restrained rage. Lily decided then to take another approach.

"Eliza, what I'm about to ask you is too dangerous to be out in the open," said Lily, "And I need your oath that nothing comes out of this room and only Frank will be told by you in a willing manner. It's to make sure that nothing that comes out of this room is compromised."

Eliza wanted to argue more, thinking that Lily was being unreasonable. Still, what Lily said was serious enough to ask for an oath and so she decided to do that. Raising her right hand, Eliza spoke. "I, Eliza Steifel-Potter Linden, hereby swear that nothing I hear and/or say in this room will be revealed to anyone unless by my own discretion and it is done so willingly in respect for the parties involved in this conversation, so mote it be."

A bright light came after the oath, and seeing Lily's satisfied look, Eliza asked. "Alright Lily, what was the point of the oath and acts of secrecy? Just a moment ago you asked about my marriage and I fail to see why you had to make me swear an oath to you."

Lily nodded but still kept a cool gaze on Eliza. Whatever Eliza was prepared for, she felt that she could handle any reason for Lily's actions. Lily's next question, however, would truly shock her.

"I want to know why your family," replied Lily in a slightly raised voice, "Placed such constraints on my son before he's even reached a year old. Why did you put up my only child, my son, to be a bargaining chip in a business arrangement for another family?"

Eliza was stunned at Lily's question. A business arrangement between her fraternal family and another, and Harry was a part of it? This didn't make any sense to her. Eliza decided to broach the topic.

"Lily," said Eliza, "Where did you get this ridiculous idea that my father's family put your son up for auction? They would never do that to anyone, even if it was with good reason. Are you suggesting that Harry has been placed with another family as a part of a business deal?"

This time, Lily's eyes raged and her magic was beginning to rise. Eliza truly felt it and was, honestly, quite fearful of Lily's power. While not on the level of many other magical beings, she was definitely packing a powerful punch, adding onto the fact that she is a mother.

"Don't toy with me, Eliza!" said Lily in suppressed rage, "Your family, my husband's, had a made deal before with another family to betroth the oldest son and the oldest daughter from whichever family had one of them. Only problem was that both had only sons, and you were away in another country. Even so, you wouldn't be considered since it was made between James' father and the head of the family in question, and it focused on firstborn children to the family heads themselves. Now you can't possibly tell me that your own father didn't you what your uncle was doing before you were even born."

With that information, the gears began to click in Eliza's mind. It started to make even more sense to her. A business arrangement between the Potters and another family, the mentioning of sons, joining a firstborn son from one family and a firstborn daughter from the other, the passing over from James' generation and onto Harry's. This could only mean one thing to Eliza, but she didn't want to believe it.

"Lily," Eliza softly replied, "Are you suggesting that my family, my uncle, created a marriage contract with another family, one that has now been placed on to Harry?"

Lily quietly nodded, confirming Eliza's suspicions. Stunned, Eliza stood still not believing what she said herself.

"I…I…", Eliza muttered, "How…when did they…who?"

Immediately Lily spoke up. "I found out from James not long before you came tonight. A few weeks ago he went to Gringotts for a meeting requested by the goblins. When he was there, he found out from our account manager that there was an ongoing marriage contract between the Potter and Greengrass families. It was created between his father, the family head, and the head of the Greengrasses. It was an arrangement for creating a political alliance, the marriage of the families' firstborn child, or next oldest should the firstborn be, for lack of a better word, incapacitated for whatever reason. It's meant to be done between the children of the family heads and James, as the son of the Potter patriarch, would've been arranged to marry the Greengrasses head's eldest daughter, but fortunately, for me at least, he didn't have one. He only had a son, but your uncle arranged that you could've been next in line for that."

Eliza didn't hide her shock, knowing now that she possibly could've been married to the eldest son of the head of the Greengrasses instead of Frank. She never heard her parents ever mention that, especially her aunt and uncle.

The same was true for the observers. Knowing fully now that Eliza was a daughter of a Potter, Joseph was stunned that he could've been Eliza's husband had her uncle arranged it. Eleanor looked scandalized that her friend could've been Joseph's wife, although she rationalized that it wasn't her fault that the contract was even in place. The Greengrass girls, however, were stunned and horrified. Stunned that Eliza could've been their mother, which would've been great since she was almost a second mother to them. Horrified that Brent could've been their brother, especially knowing how much of a pain he can be in spite of his qualities.

"Imagine our surprise," said Frank as he silently paused the scene, "I would've been with Eleanor possibly and Joseph would've been the Brent's father. That would've saved me the trouble." 

"Gee thanks, dad", Brent said sarcastically, "Leave me with the two little munchkins."

At that, the sisters kicked Brent in the shin causing him to fall over in pain. A strange sight to see two young girls successfully makes a near adult man with ideal physical stature ball up in pain and clutching his lower leg. The girls looked to one another in grim satisfaction.

"Daphne! Astoria!" shouted Eleanor. Her attempt at scolding the girls, however, failed with the mischief in her eyes as she found the scene in front of her hilarious.

"I didn't think we'd be anymore surprised," said Joseph, "Especially after finding out Eliza was a Potter by blood. It's unusual to think now that she could've not married you, though it's a good thing she did considering I recall now that it was strictly between the heads of our respective families."

"You haven't seen Eliza's reaction yet," said Frank, "Ready Brent?"

Brent, however, was still on the floor clutching his leg and trying to not whimper. "Dad," whine Brent, "Could we just-"

"Brent," Frank sternly said, "We've come this far, so let's not keep our guests in suspense. Besides, you've faced worse in your training with that lovely couple, did you not? "

At that, Brent hauled himself up whilst he glared at the Greengrass sisters, who were just checking their nails and scanning the ceiling as if they were more interesting sights.

"Let's get back in this without further interruption," said Frank as he waved his hand and played the scene in front of him.

The scene in front of them would've been considered the pause button being used to stop a video cassette in the non-magical world. Eliza was staring Lily in shock, mouth opened, eyes widened. Lily was staring back with a stoic expression, arms crossed across her chest.

"My uncle," said Eliza in a serious but low voice to prevent Harry being upset, "Your father-in-law, and the head of the House of Potter, made a marriage contract with the head of the House of Greengrass. The eldest, or firstborn child, from each family would be married off to one another, and James would've been it?" Lily nodded in confirmation of Eliza's question.

"And since the Greengrasses didn't have a daughter to marry off," Eliza continued, "I would've been next in line to marry into the Greengrass family? Without my own father telling me this, all of it would've been okay for me to be kept in the dark by them?"

Lily sighed, knowing full well that Eliza was just barely keeping her temper in check. She saw firsthand how bad that can be for everyone, including Eliza herself. Thankfully, Lily thought to herself, Eliza has been able to keep it in check, knowing that it would be a nightmare if Harry cried and she didn't feel the energy right now to have to deal with that happening. Still, she suspected Eliza knew about the contract, but with Eliza's genuine shock that James, and possibly Eliza herself, was the subject of a marriage contract, she truly didn't know. It was also surprising that Eliza's father, Horatio, never mentioned the contract to Eliza.

"Eliza," said Lily breaking her internal thinking, "Please forgive me for being rude, but I just needed to know for sure. I was surprised to hear from James that he could've been married off to the Greengrasses' eldest daughter, provided they did have one. Not to mention that your aunt and uncle had James at a fairly old age, making that very problematic but the alliance went through anyway."

Eliza was able to regain enough of her senses and wandlessly called for a chair. She sat down while Lily brought another. Both were sitting close enough to Harry's crib but kept a short gap between the two of them. Silence reigned for what seemed like an hour until Eliza spoke.

"It doesn't make sense though," Eliza interjected, "From what I understand from my father, the Greengrasses weren't really involved in anything. He suspected they were pureblood followers, but they mostly kept to themselves and not be influenced by outside forces."

"That's still the case," Lily said, "I know Eleanor a bit and kept in touch with her. Still, I was concerned when she told me she was marrying Joseph Greengrass, house rivalry and all that. After meeting her husband, though, he wasn't all that bad. He admitted to not being fond of muggles in general, but he respected muggleborns enough to realize that they can contribute to magical society."

"Anyhow, to get back on track, James and Joseph was the eldest of their respective families. The Greengrasses did have a younger son. They could've solved that problem with a daughter for either side, but thankfully for me, that did not happen. The most important part is that the contract specifically said that focus was on the eldest children. James, however, found out at Gringotts that both sides made arrangements."

"Arrangements?" asked Eliza, "Isn't the contract clear cut? Focusing on the eldest child from each house would've saved a lot of trouble for them." 

"It's complicated Eliza," said Lily, "I thought you're smarter than that."

Eliza snorted. "I'm a civil rights lawyer. I focus on constitutional rights in the US. I don't really look at marriage contracts and all that jazz."

"I know Liz," said Lily, "I'm just having you on. But you're right about things being easier to focus on just the eldest children. But the problem is this. Not only was James born to fairly old people, but both sides recognized that your father has lived in the US since he moved with his non-magical wife years ago. Normally, that wouldn't be seen as a problem but Emory—that's the head of the Greengrasses—thought that that would be a sticking point. It was a big uproar when your parents got together, and they left after the threats became too serious. Charlus managed to convince Emory of a failsafe, so to speak. The contract would focus on direct relatives to the House heads, and would continue to be active until the respective houses would be headed by an eldest son and an eldest daughter, respectively. The failsafe, however, is the interesting part." 

"Why is that?" asked Eliza who had her interest peaked at Lily's statement, "What else did James tell you?"

Taking a breath, Lily continued. "While Harry is our firstborn child, and would be married to the Greengrasses' firstborn daughter should the Greengrasses have one, there's the possibility that Harry could die before even meeting his betrothed. Thus, should James and I have another child-specifically a son-the contract will invoke our second son and the Greengrasses' eldest daughter to wed. It would be the same vice versa for the Greengrasses. Charlus and Emory, however, came to agreement on an addendum. If Charlus' line ended with James and Harry doesn't live to his majority, than the responsibilities of the contract would fall on to your father, Liza."

"Charlus basically cemented the alliance with the Greengrasses and if Charlus' line died out, then it would be on yours Eliza. Since you are Horatio's only child, as well as his daughter, you would've been obligated to marry the Greengrasses' oldest son. Thankfully, as I said before, you were already to Frank and the main emphasis was on the eldest children of the House heads. The contract, however, would still be in effect. It could be dormant until the houses finally had firstborn male and female children that could bring the houses together. Assuming I die with James and Harry, then your son, Brent, would be the next one to fulfill the contract. Even though Horatio didn't create the contract, his line would still be obligated to fulfill it, thus Brent and any future children would be asked to fulfill the contract, even though Horatio did not have a son. That is the failsafe, Lizzie. You would be tasked to carry out the contract, even though the Potter name wouldn't be carried on, since blood will run through future generations and be required to marry with the Greengrasses."

At this, Eliza's mind began to go into motion. Her father never mentioned any of this to her. Not one hint of her father being privy to such information, and Eliza was forced to put this on her son? She married Frank for love, and her son would've been forced to marry someone he may not even love for political gain? This truly caused her to feel like being slapped in the face. She had many questions for her father, and her mother to a certain extent, and she will certainly make sure they answered them.

"Lizzie," Lily spoke. That broke Eliza out of her reverie, as she stared at Lily with hard eyes. Lily, however, looked drained as if her explanation of the complicated contract hardly made sense to anyone. Eliza, however, didn't' say a word as she stared her cousin-in-law, who looked ready to sleep. She didn't want to believe any of this was true, forcing either her or Lily's children to marry into another family whose daughters may not even love them in return.

"Please Liz," said Lily, "I know this is a lot to take in. Believe me, I was shocked as well after James came back from Gringotts and he was livid. I never saw him act in such a manner, even with his friend, Sirius, around and this was not long after both his parents passed away. After he cooled off, thanks to Sirius' prank, he wanted to talk to me in private. Sirius looked after Harry, knowing that it was a serious matter, and I found out from James the contract. To say I was surprised is being mild, and I was truly upset that his father would even do this. James maintained being unaware of it, but I decided to go with him when we would meet with the Greengrasses about it. James didn't argue with me on that."

"So I take it that you both met the Greengrasses just recently?" Eliza asked.

"Just a couple days ago", replied Lily, "We met with the Greengrasses who explained with the goblins the matters of the contract. Emory was cold at first, but he showed great understanding of our feelings so it wasn't too terrible. His sons, however, were a mixed bag. Their oldest, Joseph, was nervous considering that his children would be put in the same position as ours, but he and Eleanor were very understanding of our concerns. The second son, however, I had a bad feeling about. I could just sense something wrong but I am certain that he was rather passively hostile towards me."

"Still, the Greengrasses have been a neutral family thus far, but I certainly don't think the younger son went along with that. James would agree afterwards about the man. As for the meeting, Emory explained what he and Charlus discussed, and Horatio was present at one of the earlier meetings as well, specifically the meetings where the addendums were made. You should ask your father about it, but he wasn't too keen on the contract himself. We managed to come to an agreement that our children should know each other, even if there was a contract that stipulated a family's firstborn son married the other family's firstborn daughter. James and I were familiar with the Greengrasses beforehand, and it was our hope that our children would take these relations further."

"Getting to know the in-laws long beforehand, huh?" asked Eliza, "Well, at least you and James got the Greengrasses to agree to some kind of building block."

"It wouldn't have been prudent to end something that was just starting, so to speak," said Lily, "James and I thought we would know the Greengrasses a lot better than we did in Hogwarts."

"But I get the feeling they went even further with the contract after James was born," said Eliza.

"Emory and the goblins informed us that the contract would stay intact for future generations until the marriage could finally happen or if one of the families died out," replied Lilly, "Both House heads, to borrow an American saying, went the whole nine yards, from blood to magical oaths. They actually made political and business deals that benefited both sides before all of this, so they naturally thought to take it further for their families. The only way this wouldn't happen is if one or both families died out. Until then, it's either Harry or Brent that'll carry out the contract."

After that explanation, Eliza didn't say a word and both women sat silently in their chairs, with only Harry's gurgling breaking the silence. It took about five minutes for both of the women to even speak again, with both going through a lot in their minds. Eliza just found out that her father had a part in creating a marriage contract that he himself wasn't even fully supportive of, and her only son would be the one to carry that burden should something happen to Harry. For Lily, she had revealed to her husband's cousin what had happened just so she could warn Eliza what was to come should Brent have to step up to the plate. Lily was just like Eliza was, stunned in disbelief and with a hint of anger after James returned home from a trip to Gringotts in a foul mood upon finding out the marriage contract's existence. Neither one wanted to see their children in an arranged marriage, preferring that they found love themselves like their parents. Still, in both women' minds, it could have been worse if it was a family of Voldemort supporters, and that would truly send them over the edge.

"Lily," said Eliza breaking the silence, "My father should have a copy of the contract, shouldn't he? I'm certain there are other stipulations made to the contract."

Lily nodded, confirming her suspicions. "Yes Eliza," replied Lily, "Your father would have to have a copy. Although I don't know if he has the latest version, but it should be updated automatically since we were at Gringotts. If it isn't, then the US branch would know. It's still odd to me that your father never mentioned it to you."

At that, Eliza could only nod. "It is strange," said Eliza, "But then again, I should've noticed his behavior before. There were moments when I brought back guys home and my father wouldn't accept them. It was the same with Frank, in which father wasn't initially accepting, like he wanted to say something to get rid of Frank. I chalked it up to him being overprotective, but when we got engaged, it got strangely tense."

At that Lily's interest peaked. "Really?" asked Lily, "James never mentioned that. He told me his parents were pleased that you were marrying Frank."

"That's the thing," Eliza exasperatedly said, "My father was having arguments with everyone, including my mother, whose been known to be a great source of calm for my father. There were times when I hear them have incredibly enraging debates, like they knew something that would affect me. By the time I got married, my father was calmer but there were moments he gave my uncle the evil eye. I thought it had to do with my parents' leaving Britain, but I picked up snippets from their conversations that it had to do with some sort of business with someone else that my father took part in. When we came to visit you all, it picked up again but I wasn't really paying attention when we had our conflicts, so they must have discussed that again."

At that, baby Harry began to cry and Lily moved to the crib to rock it. After a few seconds, Harry began to calm down but Lily then decided to use her wand and bring over a stuffed dragon. Upon grabbing it, she decided to wave it above Harry to play with him. Harry began to giggle obviously enjoying the show. After his calming down, Lily picked up Harry and held him as she went back to her chair and bouncing him around in her arms. Eliza watched the sight with tears in her eyes, remembering as if it was just yesterday that she held her own son like that. The silent observers were also watching it with interest, seeing for the first time what Lily Potter was like with Harry before Voldemort attacked. It was a scene that would be in their minds for years to come. A question, however, began to form in the pensieve version of Eliza.

"Lily, do you know anyone else who knows about this outside of our family and the Greengrasses?" asked Eliza, "You mentioned Sirius Black was her one time, but you and James were talking while he was with Harry. Does he know?"

Lily shook her head. "We decided to keep that secret," Lily said with a bit of remorse, "We thought about telling our friends, but both families swore to not tell anyone else about the contract. They made it possible to prevent any compulsion charms or other methods of force to reveal it and it had to be the involved parties' say so to reveal anything to anyone. Not to mention with Voldemort running around he would go after the Greengrasses just because they are a pureblood family that turned against him. Besides, Gringotts is very secure and the goblins were more than happy to keep their silence with enough gold."

"I assume it has to do with the Potter lineage", said Eliza in the form of a statement instead of a question, "that would really make things chaotic." Lily nodded. To the Lindens and Greengrasses watching the pensieve memory, they already knew the powerful ancestry the Potters could lay claim to and the revelation of such a line would shake up the wizarding world.

"Still," continued Eliza, "I honestly don't trust any of the people you all associate with." Lily jerked her head up at Eliza as if she were slapped. "What?" Lily asked barely above a whisper. Eliza knew there was no turning back now, and thus continued on.

"Look Lily," said Eliza, "I know your husband trusts his school friends, really I do. I've met them before and while it had been a bit rocky, mostly due to the level of immaturity amongst them, they are tight. Still, I don't know how well they can keep a secret like this, especially at this point. Firstly and most obvious, Remus is a werewolf." At Lily's glare, Eliza raised her hands in a sign of peace.

"You know I'm not discriminating," continued Eliza, "I've worked with and helped werewolves in court cases. It helps a lot when it comes to keeping secrets, since a legilimens wouldn't be able to break down a werewolf's mental barriers since its mind is strongly protected no matter what form the person is in. Still, they're vulnerable to potions and compulsion charms, especially in human form and during their monthly transformations. It's kind of hard to expect that Remus would not to tell any secrets when werewolves are just as susceptible as wizards are to those things when he's not in his lycan form, and that's not counting silver-based weapons."

"Secondly, Sirius comes from a historically dark family, and his brother could take advantage of his relationship with James and his godfather status to Harry. Sirius can be too cocky at times and he does moments of being out of it enough to reveal things no one wants revealed. Finally, Peter Pettigrew doesn't seem magically powerful. I know he's got ability, but it doesn't seem to me that he uses it right. Plus, I personally don't think James is as close to him as he is with Remus and Sirius. In all my times meeting him, I've always had a sneaking suspicion that he would easily turn on someone with enough convincing. I'm sure that he's up to something but I can only hope it isn't bad. They're all liable to be fooled, and they can be used to betray you guys."

"Eliza!" Lily quietly exclaimed, "Don't' you dare tell me that one of James' friends would betray us! They would die before even thinking of doing such a thing to us!"

"Lily," Eliza calmly said, "I know what happened between you and Severus Snape before you got together with James." At that, Lily shivered as she held her son. "I know after encountering him one time when I was with Frank and my parents in London. We were in a restaurant and I noticed he was eavesdropping on us, as if he suspected us of something. I felt a mind probe when I went looking in his direction. I don't know how much he knew but he saw some memories of mine, mostly with Frank. Still, I managed to take a look at his memories, seeing for what he did to upset you during your school days. That doesn't even count the times I had to protect myself against his buddies, I could pick up his presence without having to guess out of a group of people wearing the same wardrobe. Imagine his surprise when Frank and I confronted him one time when he showed up at the hotel we were staying at, trying to glean more information. No disguise would stop us from finding him out."

"What does this have to do with anything?" asked Lily, "Severus and I haven't talked at all since our last year at Hogwarts, not after he made clear his beliefs about Voldemort. Plus, how would you know he attempted to probe your mind, and how could you have picked up his memories? I don't recall him being a Legilimens since not everyone can learn that, and being an Occlumens is even more difficult."

"Like I said," Eliza smirked, "I had to learn how to keep a poker face in the courtroom. Plus, it helps when you have a husband who's rather cunning and powerful to teach the woman he loves the mind arts and know how to be a sly when picking up secrets." At that, Lily gave a snort.

"In any case," Eliza continued, "Snape was surprised to know what we knew about him. We tried to convince him to not stay with Voldemort, but he refused. That only adds to the attacks on us he took part in, and boy did he show his dueling abilities. Still, I held my own and knocked him down. I tried to convince him to help you, calling on his feelings for you but he refused. That was when I got attacked by some other Inner Circle members. Thankfully Frank fought a couple of them but as I got distracted he went after Frank. I tried to warn him, but I couldn't after fighting a couple Death Eaters myself. Snape silently used his _Sectumsempera_ curse on him, and Frank was hit. Fortunately, Frank gave Snape a run for his money. Still, Frank was getting weakened by that curse, and Snape took advantage. Snape tried to mind rape Frank, and me beforehand, even going so far as to threaten our son."

At that, Lily gasped. "You can't be serious?" exclaimed Lily, "I can't believe he would do that."

"He did," Eliza responded coldly, "And that set off his other 'abilities' and knock Snape on his ass. Frank was able to one up Snape with his countering of the curse on him, and leveled Snape with an intense hatred that gave him the message that any attacks on the Lindens would be an act of war. In the midst of that, he telepathically communicated to Snape that you wouldn't want that, Lily. He tried to tell Snape to renounce everything and find a new start somewhere else. Unfortunately, he refused again. We fought off as best we could but Snape escaped with a portkey. The aurors came a few minutes later but we both knew that things got worse. We wanted your family to come to the US. We just don't know if any of your friends or allies would turn on you just like Snape did."

At that, Lily sighed before speaking again. "I honestly don't see how this is connected to James' friends," Lily coldly said, "Yes, Severus did commit things that are despicable, but that was after our falling out. James and his friends weren't on good terms with Severus at all, and that still runs today. I understand that you're worried and want us to stay with your family, but we have to stay here. None of James' friends would turn on us, and they're not as petty as Snape to do such a thing."

"Like the werewolf of your group?" Eliza asked, "I don't see where he is now, it seems to me that you put him in the same category as Snape." At that, Lily's eyes shone with rage while she held on to her baby.

"How dare you?" asked Lily in a barely restrained voice.

Eliza sat with the same expression of contained rage and did not stop. "Oh please," said Eliza, "It's not that hard you suspect Remus of being a traitor to your little Order, especially with his 'furry little problem. You obviously didn't trust him enough about your little switcheroo, did you? I bet old Dumbeldore thought it was for the greater good that you did that."

Lily didn't seem surprised Eliza didn't think too highly of Albus Dumbledore, especially at times when she did meet him she didn't seem all that impressed, not his abilities, but more of his secretive nature suspecting that he is hiding something. Then it hit her. "Wait, what were you talking about before," asked Lily, "How did you know we suspected Remus? Did you use_ Legilimens_ on any of us? Plus, why did you both ask Severus to leave Voldemort _and_ Dumbledore."

At that, Eliza responded with a cold answer. "For the first question," responded Eliza, "Yes."

"How can you do this!" exclaimed Lily, to which Harry began crying, "Are you trying to satisfy your own curiosity?"

"It isn't curiosity as much as it is concern," Eliza responded coldly, "And it didn't have to come from you two! Sirius' behavior alone gave me clues on what's been happening amongst you. I had to look for Remus with elf magic, and he explained how he felt betrayed when you all suspected him. And you blindly follow Albus Dumbledore like it isn't a problem. Has this war truly made you forgotten what needs to be done? He thinks people are redeemable, but that can only go so far. I've noticed how he's attempted to probe my mind whenever we met, and believe me, you wouldn't believe the secrets he holds."

"Stop," Lily said, "Just stop, alright? What are you trying to say to me? Just earlier you said James' friends couldn't be highly trusted, then you compare them to Severus, and just now you've been criticizing Albus. Just what are you trying to get at?"

"Lily," said Eliza, "You may have prevented a lot of people from finding out about the marriage contract but who's to say that Albus wouldn't try to figure out how to get around the safeguards. Let's not forget, he convinced your family to stay behind when you're baby is barely a year old. He's prevented you to come live with us, all because of some prophecy he's heard from a divination professor."

As Eliza said that, Lily's eyes shot up in shock. "W-wait," mumbled Lily, "What are you talking about?"

"Come on Lily," replied Eliza, "You have this house under the Fideliius Charm. The secret keeper had to be someone James and you trust, and I can guess who it is. We didn't need to deal with technicalities since we swore to not reveal the location in any way. That doesn't matter, though. I honestly don't know why you put so much trust in Dumbledore. This war is already devastating both sides, more for the Light. You honestly believe that stunning Death Eaters will bring Voldemort down? There are always others to take their places. After he's beaten, you really think any of them are going to be forgiven and redeemable? Not really, since a lot of them are stodgy pureblood ideologists and aren't afraid of committing heinous acts to achieve their goals. Albus has done many great things, no doubt, but he's put way too much stock in forgiving people. He's putting things in place that are dangerous for everyone involved, and the things he should've and could've done for the future he'll ignore and cause more harm than he ever intended to make his ideals a reality. And you know that is true."

At the end of Eliza's short speech, Lily was dumbstruck. She knew that Eliza had reservations about some of Dumbledore's policies. Yes, people deserve second chances, and they should be allowed to redeem themselves. Lily truly believed that. Yet, Lily also knew that Eliza was right for all of the Order's attempts to prevent more bloodshed, they stunned first and hoped that they would see the errors of their ways when more Death Eaters would pop up.

"You're right Lizzie," said Lily. Eliza unconsciously raised her eyebrows, expecting more of a fight from Lily in her defense of the Order's actions.

"The Order is concerned about resources and manpower being heavily depleted, while Voldemort's forces continue to multiply" Lily continued, "They kill without remorse and we're trying to protect people by not being like our enemies. Is it ideal that we don't use the killing curse or other dangerous spells to end the lives of Death Eaters? Yes. Is it the right solution? No. Morally we want to stand tall, but it's not always easy to do so. James admitted privately to me that he wished he was more like you, Lizzie. You've been able to fight for what's right even when you faced tough obstacles. Dumbeldore's a great wizard, but even I know that there are things that I find frustrating like his tendency to keep secrets when it could've helped us in a lot of situations. I'm still hoping he's looking out for everyone's best interests, but even I'm wondering if he truly does. It's because of the prophecy that Dumbeldore has us and the Longbottoms hiding. That's why we couldn't go to the US and live with your family, Lizzie. He suggested that there are Death Eater spies in the US, even though the US is actively working to prevent a similar war on their own soil. But Lizzie, we're already deeply involved, and we have to continue fighting. There's no turning back for us."

"But you can still leave," said Eliza, "We can help you find jobs in the US and a home without hesitation. At the very least, Harry would have been safe."

"No Eliza," said Lily, "I couldn't bear to send my son away to you, even if it was for safety reasons. I know Dumbledore suspects a lot of things about your family, but even he would be foolish to try anything against you and your husband. Is Dumbeldore trying to keep an eye on us, the answer is yes. Still, I know from a seer that Harry's needed in this country, even at the risk of serious challenges in his life. He'll be able to achieve things we won't be able to, and your son will help. The seer has seen what would happen, but the journey to it would be fraught with interference from people we supposedly trust. That has helped to raise my suspicions about Albus amongst others. I also didn't place you as a possible guardian because of that."

At that, Eliza was stunned. She immediately went to Lily's chair and knelt in front of her. "But why?" asked Eliza, "You just admitted you're suspicious of Dumbledore, yet you wouldn't list me as a potential guardian? Frank would raise him as his own son, and Brent would have a brother. My parents would be able to see their grandnephew since his fraternal grandparents are gone. We're certainly powerful and will fight to protect ourselves and our loved ones."

"If you know anything about the Potters' lineage," said Lily, "Then you know it would pale in comparison to Frank's. Brent is now a target, and he's got an even greater destiny than Harry does. Albus will try to manipulate whatever is supposed to happen to his will, even if things go badly for him. He would no doubt make things difficult for you with his position as Supreme Mugwump of the Wizengamot and head of the ICW. You know that Eliza, and neither I nor James can let that happen to you."

Eliza understood Lily's words, knowing full well it could be an international scandal if the war ended and Harry's guardianship was contested if the Potters died. Eliza knew full well that it could drag on for years, and Harry would be under who knows whose care while her family's attempts would be blocked by Dumbledore at every turn. Plus, who knows if there are Death Eaters who would escape justice and come after them in the US. It was something that she and her husband tried to strategize for in the event something happened to the Potters. As if that wasn't enough, Frank wanted to keep his ancestry secretive. While she understood why, she felt that Frank should use it to help gain custody of Harry should anything happen to those James and Lily trusted to take care of him, but Frank was adamant to not use it even for a last resort since he said to her once that his ancestry would possibly shatter the wizarding world in more ways than one.

"There's something else I need to give to you before you leave, Eliza," said Lily, "And I know you can be trusted with this, but you cannot tell anyone else except your parents. It's vital that it'd be kept for safekeeping."

With that, the observers watched Lily move as they would see more clues to Eliza's role in obtaining the marriage contract.

TBC

A/N: hey guys, sorry for that ending but I had to split that up. It was getting too long so I'm gonna put the rest of it up in the next chapter. Like Daphne seeing her 'betrothed' as a baby? Weird, I know, but had to do that. Next chapter will see the rest of the pensieve scene and maybe a bit of Harry. Sorry for the bad time jumps and lack of linear cohesion but it's still being worked out. Keep up the R&R! Peace out!


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